Hyoton no Naruto
by sinisteruto
Summary: What if Haku bestowed his bloodline to the person he felt the closest connection to? What if the side effect of the transfer caused Haku to awaken inside Naruto's mindscape? How would the child of prophesy's destiny be affected by this turn of events. Pairings undecided, possible Naru/Shizune/Hana/Mei
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or anyother series I might use for inspiration.

_**For The Sake Of My Precious Person**_

_My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but some people know me simply as the kyubi brat, demon brat, or just plain demon or plain kyubi. Alot has happened in the short time since I became a genin. I fought against the demon of the mist Momochi Zabuza and his incredibly smart and talented apprentice, Yuki Haku. I also entered the chunin exams with my team and made it to the finals before our village was invaded, giving me a glimse into the horrors of war and the burden that one carries as a Hokage, as the Hokage damned himself and his predecessors to eternal suffering in the death god's stomach, all for the sake of the village. Following that, I was attacked by an organisation of S ranked shinobi hell bent on capturing and ultimately killing me and then what I thought to be my best friend betrayed the village and joined the very enemy that orchestrated the attack on our village and killed the Hokage. I can't count the number of times I almost died in that retrieval mission alone. All in all, one could say that I am a very experienced shinobi for one so young and new in the shinobi forces. I've experienced almost everything._

_However, there is one important event that perhaps trumps all other experiences that I've had before. It happened when I lost consciousness in my battle with Sasuke, a battle in which I was ultimately defeated. I ended up drifting into the sewer that is my mindscape but rather than the usual meeting with the fox that always followed this event, I instead came across another being in my mindscape, an actual human being, yes, the one and only Momochi Yuki Haku._

_I couldn't believe what I was seeing with my own two eyes. At first I thought it was a dream but I was proven wrong almost immediately as Haku explained everything to me. Apparently this happened when I was unconscious and Sasuke tried to protect me from Haku's onslaught. Haku had managed to lay a hand on me, and in that moment he had placed a forbidden jutsu on me that he had originally intended to use on his master, Momochi Zabuza. _

_He said that he'd had an epithemy, that he'd not only seen a potential for greatness in me, but had forseen his and Zabuza's death too, partly because he couldn't imagine himself taking my life and also because he'd sensed the presence of the kyubi inside of me. He also explained that he wasn't even sure that Zabuza could survive the jutsu but he had known because of my Uzumaki heritage and because of the kyubi that I would survive the jutsu. It was a sealing jutsu that sealed a great amount of his chakra and lifeforce into another, and the chakra would restructure the target's body and chakra network at a molecular level in order to make said target compatible with his kekkei genkei._

_Naturally, I was more than a little shocked, I couldn't believe that Haku would create such a crazy technique, and I couldn't comprehend why he would either. He told me that that he'd created the jutsu because he was unable to be of proper use to Zabuza, that, in the event that either Zabuza got fed up with his failures or that he was prepared to die, then he would use the jutsu to pass his kekkei genkei onto Zabuza before he dies. This way, he would always be part of Zabuza and he would be eternally useful to his master, ultimately becoming what he was trully meant to be in the truest sense of the word, that being Zabuza's ultimate weapon._

_It broke my heart to hear those words from Haku, but at the time, I had too many questions to dwell on that. I needed answers. Why wasn't I aware of this earlier, and why did Haku wait until now to explain the situation? But Haku explained that there were unforseen circumstances. He explained that he didn't expect the side effect of him regaining consciousness within my mindscape, and that my mind, as a jinchuuriki, was far more complex compared to that of a normal human being and hence why this happened. But he said that he considered it to be a good side effect because it enabled him to not only actively control the assimilation, but also to slow it down to a level where the assimilation would take place discretely and without any pain or suffering on my part. This was important because if I ended up in the hospital, even for a few hours, they would probably do tests and figure out what was happening, and if that happened and people found out that an enemy shinobi had practically taken over my body, then I would become even more of a pariah in Konoha and no one would ever trust me enough to approve me as the Hokage._

_I have to admit that, had this been anyone else, literally anyone else but my closest friend in the world, I too would have been worried. Technically speaking, Haku was in a position now where he could mount a strong challenge for possession of my body, he was in fact in a far better position than even Kyubi because there was no seal or cage restricting him, and he even told me he had spent most of that time exploring every aspect of my mindscape and analysing my body in order to find the, in his opinion, __**many **__secrets hidden inside of it. This knowledge would come in handy when we began our training together, but it could have turned out oh so differently had Haku not been who he is._

_Anyway, Haku did suggest that we join the A.N.B.U, and more specifically, the hunter nin division of the A.N.B.U. He explained that as Hokage, I would need to have in depth knowledge of all the divisions in the village and that joining the ANBU was the easiest method to grasp everything. Also, he explained that I needed to see and experience the true extent of the darkness of the world in order to make the world a better place. It also helped that the ANBU would teach me discipline and standard protocol and also entrench the fundementals of being a shinobi into me. _

_Then there was the ninjutsu side of things. Haku told me that the ANBU library in every ninja village has a vast array of ninjutsu scrolls both from within the village and that which were spoils of war confiscated from enemy shinobi. This would be useful for our ninjutsu training. Haku had mastered every single water jutsu that Zabuza had and he had mastered fuuton manipulation along with his kekkei genkei, but he didn't know any actual fuuton techniques and the many hyoton techniques he knew were his own creations. Perhaps we could find some fuuton techniques inside ANBU headquarters in order to diversify my ninjutsu arsenal he suggested, it certainly sounded like an incredible idea to me, although my weakness for ninjutsu might have played a part in shaping my opinion._

_Anyway, last but not least, joining the ANBU would make it easier for me to hide from Akatsuki until I was ready to take on them and being a hunter nin would ensure that I not only got battle experience but also aquired the knowledge and skill required to track Sasuke down and bring him back to the village. Needless to say, the arguement he presented was more than a little compelling, I almost immediately rushed to Tsunade's office and demanded entry into the ANBU ranks. She flatly refused me ofcourse and said I didn't know what I was saying. Haku guided me through the details though as I explained everything he'd said to me thoroughly, leaving out a few secrets ofcourse. When asked how I knew I had a wind and water affinity, I simply gave the chakra paper explanation that Haku told me, even though I had no idea what the hell that was at the time._

_I finally got both Tsunade and Shizune nee-chan's attention after that, I could tell that they were shocked by my, or rather, Haku's reasoning. I even pleaded that they didn't tell any of my comrades where I was, that they just release information that I had gone on a long term mission or something. It would be easier if everyone genuinely believed that I was gone, and they themselves would be more convincing if they encountered an enemy looking for me. _

_Things degenerated when Tsunade still refused my appeal. She sited the fact that Jiraiya wanted to take me on a three year training trip and that she had already given him express permission. I implored her to reverse her decision, training under Jiraiya, when he actually did pay attention to me would be undoubtedly useful and educational I had to admit, but he spent so much time doing his research, managing his spy network, or just plain drinking and hanging out with prostitutes and girls that I just felt that the experience would not be enough to get me where I wanted to be. The lack of battle experience also didn't sit well with me, and Haku also agreed with my sentiments. However, he did come up with a compromise, one that would somewhat appease Tsunade. Haku pointed out that Tsunade, as Hokage, could simply order that Jiraiya-sensei spend two weeks straight in Konoha once every three months, and even if that wasn't made an order, Jiraiya-sensei could still come to Konoha of his own accord for at least a total eight weeks in the 50-52 weeks that made up a year, that is, if he truly considered me as his apprentice._

_We had the advantage at this point in time, Shizune nee-chan and Tsunade-baa could not refute my argument and they had no valid grounds to deny me this request. That's not to say that Tsunade didn't try, because she did, using her council of advisers as a smokescreen for her decision to turn me down. But I wasn't about to fall for that, for I already knew that those old farts would never deny my request, they'd wanted me in the ANBU since I was four years old, they'd be happier than even I was about my decision to join. In the end, Tsunade ended up giving me a condition._

_It was a rule that no one below the level of chunin was permitted to join the ANBU even though the Hokage had the discretion to make exceptions. Still, she argued that even a Hokage's discretionary limits could only extend so far and she had already stretched the limits on too many occassions already. Instead, she wanted me to prove to her that I could fight at the level of a chuunin without using the fox's chakra. So it was decided that I would be promoted to chuunin if I passed a hand written test and impressed her in battle without relying on the fox. It was also stipulated that a third test would be held after both those test, a test to see if I could gaurantee that I won't go berserk when I use the fox's chakra. _

_Jiraiya-sensei was supposed to come for me in four month's time, and I had that long to improve my skills and the test would be taken on his return. If I passed the test then I would be allowed to have my way. If I failed then I would have no choice but to go with Jiraiya-sensei. Haku and I agreed to the terms and we have spent all that time and training and learning as much as we can, with Haku as my mentor._

_I started training with Gai-san and Lee to improve speed, stamina, strength, and quality of my taijutsu. Ofcourse, I was excluded when Gai wanted to teach Lee some of his own personal moves, but I was always included for speed, stamina, and strength training, and both Lee and Gai gave me tips here and there to help me improve my basic understanding and use of taijutsu.. I would go on to train with Gai-sensei and Lee for the remainder of the four month program. _

_When I wasn't training with Gai-san and Lee, Haku would be training me to move stealthly, to move swiftly, and he would also help me further improve my speed, agility, flexibility, and evasive tactics. This is all I did for four months, and I was pushed far beyond my limits by both Gai-sensei and Haku, Gai-sensei because he was a training and fitness nutjob, and Haku because he actually studied my body and knew that I should be able to handle far more punishment than the average human._

_Even though this is all I had time for in 24 hours that make up a day, that's not to say that is all I did, far from it actually. Haku discovered something about my shadow clones that I had absolutely and completely taken for granted. He pointed out how I remembered and felt the experiences of my clones as if I had been the one partaking in the tasks I sent them on. Haku then asked the question of what would happen if someone taught the clone a new jutsu while it was seperated from me? Or what would happen if I sent out one hundred clones and each one found someone to teach them a different jutsu in that one day. Would I then know one hundred new jutsu in one day when I dispelled those clones?_

_I couldn't believe just how much of a genius Haku was. I had never in my wildest dreams thought of such a posibility. Ofcourse we did put it to the test, and it turned out to be true. It was really possible to learn through my clones, and this was a boon because I, the original, could afford to focus solely on my physical training while my clones did all the theory and the ninjutsu for me._

_Under normal circumstances, overusing this technique for this purpose would be dangerous. However, I am an Uzumaki, a jinchuuriki, and I have Haku. My body, including my brain are exceptionally durable as an Uzumaki, my mindscape as a jinchuuriki is flexible and expansive, it even holds the mind of a century, possibly millenia old entity, and last but not least, I had Haku in said mindscape, who helped to organise, store, and file the information properly in my mind. My potential with this training style was near unlimited._

_We could have learned all three of fuuton, suiton, and hyoton in that four months, but Haku was against such an idea. He wanted complete mastery and diversity over each element. So we decided to focus on suiton alone for that four months in terms of elemental manipulation. The first month was meant to teach me how to access my water element. It took me just a week, no, actually, just five days for me to master this technique with the shadow clone training._

_However, Haku refused to teach me any jutsu until the following the month. He didn't just want normal mastery over the element, he wanted me to manipulate water in the same manner as I blink, or in the same manner as I breathe, subconsciously without the need to focus, without the need to meditate or concentrate heavily, and within a snap of the fingers. It was not only about the speed and ease of execution however, it was also about the scale. He wanted me to be able to move water at the size and speed of a ninjutsu without actually molding hand seals and without using a shape manipulation, basically, to bend the water to my will alone. _

_I wondered to myself if something like this had ever been done before. Haku explained that the Hozuki clan of Kiri had such an ability and that even he had the ability, as that is how his mother had discovered he had a bloodline limit. He said that I should be able to do it because I was merged with him and because I already had a strong water and wind affinity before the merger, and therefore my affinity was much stronger than normal._

_And so this continued for a month, and both Haku and I were more than a little impressed by the achievement to say the least. I managed to reach a level where I did in fact bend the water to my will on a large scale, but not only that, I also reached a level where I could create water out of thin air, in other words, manipulating the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere._

_The following month was spent learning every water ninjutsu that Haku knew, and let me tell you, the list was incredibly long. It would have taken a year and half, maybe two, hell, possibly even more to learn all those jutsu if it wasn't for my clones and Haku's help, but I managed to do it in a single month. The third month on the other hand I was spent trying to create new suiton jutsu. Haku told me that the mark of a great shinobi is one who doesn't merely replicate what he is taught, but one who either improves on what he was taught or uses what he is taught as inspiration for new inventions. He also explained that every great shinobi has a jutsu unique only to himself, a trump card so to speak. And that's how the third month went, my clones tasked with coming up with ideas for new water style ninjutsu._

_The fourth month was spent simulating combat situations where I actually used my suiton in combat situations. I also continued to task my clones with jutsu creation and refinement of my ninjutsu. That's not to say that water manipulation was the only thing my clones did in that four months. Many other squadrons of clones participated in many other tasks. There were anatomical, botanical, and medical lessons that Haku held for my other clones, there were also lectures where the history of the shinobi world, past and present leaders and war strategist, leaders, and legends of the like were studied in depth. There was also maths, chemistry and physics lectures and introduction to the sealing arts, which was my personal favorite, my guilty pleasure so to speak. Haku even taught me everything he was taught as a hunter nin and ANBU operative, just like how Zabuza had taught him. I even ended up learning the silent killing technique and kenjutsu, which would be very useful for my job as an ANBU officer and a hunter nin. _

_One other thing Haku helped me master was my chakra sensing. I've always been a chakra sensor, but perhaps I was too stupid to realise it. No, rather, I assumed that everyone who unlocked their chakra inherited this ability automatically, since I became aware of it as soon as I unlocked my chakra for the first time. Or perhaps it was the fact that it wasn't that refined. I could sense chakra presences, but I couldn't distuinguish them. In other words, I wouldn't be able to tell if Sasuke or Kakashi were sneaking up on me, just that someone with strong chakra was sneaking up on me. _

_My clones refined this technique for me, my distance has significantly improved and I can tell even the most minute details about someone's chakra, including ofcourse who it is that I'm sensing or whether they were about to use a jutsu or not and from which part of their body they were going to release said jutsu. All in all, I'm a far more advanced shinobi then I used to be now. And I'm ready to pass Tsunade-baa...I mean Tsundade-sama's test, gotta start acting like a real ANBU operative now, can't be calling her that anymore._

"So you're still serious about joining the ANBU?" Tsunade asked with a deathly tone, her hands clasped together over her desk, trying to bore a hole through Naruto's soul with her eyes alone.

She had to admit that Naruto had changed quite alot over the past four months. No one had seen him at all in that whole time, it was almost like he disappeared off of the face of the earth. If it wasn't for the barrier squad and sensor division that was charged with village security, she would have been worried that Akatsuki had perhaps captured him from right under their noses.

His outfit was quite significantly different right now, gone was the hideaously neon orange jumpsuit, replaced with pitch black shinobi pants with blue tape around the ankes and equally dark blue shinobi sandals, along with a black long sleeved top with three dark blue bands on his right arm, and one on his left hand wrist, seemingly with the intention of holding the sleeves in tact. A weapons pouch could be found on his right leg too.

"My mind will not be swayed, besides, I'm not one who can easily go back on his word, you should know that by now." Naruto replied with a straight face, causing Tsunade to sigh in dismay.

_'How could I forget about that, ofcourse the idiot wouldn't go back on his word.' _Tsunade thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

_'Well I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, there's no way he is going to pass the test that I have set up for him.' _Tsunade thought, feeling a little guilty about crushing his hopes, but then quickly pushing the feeling down to the back of her mind and the lowest depths of her heart, this was for his own good anyway. She was just looking out for him, he had no idea what he was getting himself into after all.

"What's with the change of outfit anyway? I'll admit that it looks more professional, but it also looks rather...dull, for you at least." Tsunade asked curiously.

"A chuunin vest will look better with this outfit as opposed to my orange jumpsuit. Besides, you said it yourself, it does look more professional." Naruto replied.

"Tche! You sure are full of yourself aren't you, you think passing this test will be that simple?" Tsunade asked rhetorically.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do think it will be rather simple for someone of my skill and talent." Naruto replied with a confident smirk.

"Ohohohohoho! You just never learn do you?" Jiraiya said from the window seal, jumping into the office seemingly unnanounced, even though Tsunade and Shizune always knew he was there anyway.

"It's been a long time Jiraiya-sensei. Pity I won't be able to keep you company in your adventures." Naruto greeted tauntingly.

"Ahahahahahahaaha! My beloved student, you're certainly one of a kind." Jiraiya laughed.

"He wouldn't be my number one hyperactive and unpredictable student if he wasn't." Kakashi said, now crouching on the same window seal that Jiraiya was recently crouched upon.

"You know you guys didn't have to follow me all the way to the Hokage's office, you could have just accompanied me." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Eh ehehehehe! I'm not sure I know what you're talking about Naruto." Kakashi said unconvincingly.

"Ummmm...sure, I guess." Naruto replied with a sweat drop.

_'He knew we were following him all this time? I don't know about Kakashi, but I was being as stealthy as I can possibly be back there, has Naruto really improved that much?' _Jiraiya thought contemplatively, the same thoughts going through Kakashi's mind at that very moment.

"Ahem! You two should start developing the habit of using the door like civilized humans when you enter my office, otherwise I just might develop the habit of pulverizing certain male genitals." Tsunade said with a threatening undertone, causing both Kakashi and Jiraiya to sweat nervously.

"Anyway, when do I begin the test, I'm ready now." Naruto cut in, both Jiraiya and Kakashi mentally thanking Naruto for diverting Tsunade's attention away from their genitals.

"It depends, which part of the test do you want to start with? The written part, or the practical/battle part?" Tsunade asked.

"The battle ofcourse. I'd like to get that part out of the way immediately." Naruto replied.

"Can't wait to show off huh?" Tsunade asked with a knowing smirk.

"Ofcourse, isn't that the whole point of a chuunin examination? In a manner of speaking that is." Naruto retorted.

_'Tche! You have a weird way of looking at things as always.' _Tsunade thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Okay then, meet us in training ground seven in thirty minutes. Use the remaining time to gather your thoughts and plan your strategies. You're going to need it..." Tsunade trailed off darkly.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Naruto said with a respectful bow before proceeding to exit the office.

_"What do you make of this Naruto-kun?" _Haku asked curiously.

_"They're going to make me do the bell test. My opponent is definitely Kakashi-sensei." _Naruto replied.

_"The bell test huh? Seems like quite a ruse to me, they really have no intention of letting you join the ANBU do they?" _Haku asked rhetorically.

_"No they don't, but at the same time, they are clearly underestimating me. I'm not the same kid I was before, and besides the fact that I already know the sharingan's weakness, I also happen to have you on my side, a trump card that no enemy will ever know about, my best friend who will always be there for me." _Naruto declared passionately.

_"I like the confidence and passion with which you speak Naruto-kun, it's honestly quite amazing how you never doubt yourself." _Haku replied.

_"I'm the kyubi jinchuuriki and I've put my body through hell over the last four months. I've applied my mind, soul and body over that same time period and I've got a genius like you on my side. There's no reason to be afraid of anything, Haku. All I have to do is do my best, that's all there is to it." _Naruto retorted, Haku once again re-affirming to himself his decision to stay with Naruto, not having even a single regret regarding his current state right now, content to see the world for the rest of his existence from Naruto's eyes. Besides, technically speaking, he was already dead anyway, he had no right to complain as far as he was concerned.

**30 minutes later**

_"They're coming." _Naruto said in his thoughts, not that he really needed to as Haku was already aware of that, he did have access to all of Naruto's senses after all.

_"Lets do this." _Haku replied with an air of confidence and determination, Shizune, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade arriving in that moment with a leaf shunshin technique.

"It's time." Tsunade said with a serious tone.

"I take it I'm fighting against Kakashi-sensei? What will it be, the bell test again?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"What makes you think that you're fighting me?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.

"It might have something to do with the many traps that you set-up around the parameter of the training ground. Alot of shadow clones had to die to release those traps you know. You're one sadistic bastard Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied casually, almost as if without a care in the world.

_'As expected of my student, he knows me well enough to identify my work with a single glance.' _Kakashi thought.

"I take it you managed to set your own traps in the process?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Nope, didn't get a chance to. I wanted to make absolutely sure that all of your traps were discovered and released. That took too much of my time and I didn't get to set my own traps as a result. I have no regrets though, there is no substitute for vigilance." Naruto replied.

_'So he figured out the purpose of giving him a thirty minute head start was in order to give him a chance to make pre-emptive battle preparations. Not only that, but he must have also realised that whoever was testing him would have known about this part of the exam for quite a while now, and because of that, he took care to scout the area for any surprises that might lay in store for him. Last but not least, the nature and style of the traps set out in the battlefield, and the fact that the exam is taking place in training ground seven, and combine that with the fact that Kakashi-san was in Tsunade-sama's office earlier, he was able to use those subtle hints to accurately discern to the most minute detail what kind of test was in store for him. Sugoi! Naruto-kun is truly amazing, I can't believe how much he's grown in such a short space of time.' _Shizune thought with a proud smile, similar analysis going through Tsunade, Kakashi, and Jiraiya's mind as well.

"You've done well Naruto, but that was just the easy part. You have to actually get the bells from me this time. There's no hidden meaning behind the test and there is no alternate way to pass except to get the bells. Also, I won't be holding back this time around, you are the hero that defeated the formerly undefeated Sabaku no Gaara and Shukaku after all, and I saw the damage that your battle with Sasuke did at the Valley of the End. I'll give you the respect that your achievements deserve, even though you aren't allowed to use the fox in this exam like you did in those two battles." Kakashi said with a deathly tone, lifting up the left side of his headband to reveal a three tamoe sharingan.

_"Haku!" _Naruto signalled.

_"Don't worry Naruto-kun, as we agreed, I will cancel any genjutsu cast upon you. Just focus on the nin and taijutsu and leave the genjutsu to me." _Haku said re-assuringly, Naruto replying with a simple thank you, and as promised, dedicating his mind, body, and soul to tai and ninjutsu and content to leave the rest in Haku's trusted hands.

"State your rules of engagement." Naruto said with serious face, a strong breeze washing over the area as the duo focused their chakra and intent, so much so that the atmosphere was practically suffocating.

"Use of the kyubi's chakra is not permitted, everything else is legal. Your goal is to get the two interconnected bells from my waist, and you have twenty four hours to do that. You will automatically fail the chuunin examination if you fail to get the bells. One last thing, if you don't attack with the intent to kill, you will not only fail to get the bells from me...you might actually die..." Kakashi trailed off with a dangerous tone.

"Do you still want to continue Naruto, even under those conditions?" Tsunade asked with a taunting smirk.

"That goes without saying. I'm taking those bells in less than an hour, twenty four hours is overkill." Naruto replied, pointing at the bells with a confident but dead serious expression, Kakashi's eye narrowing in anger at what he perceived to be Naruto's ignorance and arrogance, feeling totally underestimated right now.

"You must have prepared quite well to be that confident, unless you actually think that you're stronger than Kakashi, that would be plain stupid ofcourse." Jiraiya laughed.

"Who knows. We won't know until we fight now will we, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto replied.

"Ohohohohohoho! You really are an idiot aren't you?" Jiraiya laughed amusedly.

"Hn." Was all Naruto said.

_'Kakashi's eyes just became so much darker. Naruto must have really hit a nerve. I must do something otherwise he might just crush Naruto's will for good.' _Jiraiya thought with concern.

"Well...too bad Kakashi is not going to be your opponent today! Better luck next time! Hahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!" Jiraiya laughed like a total idiot, Shizune, Kakashi, and Tsunade giving him the most incredulous look Naruto had ever seen in his life.

"What's the meaning of this, sensei?" Naruto asked irritably.

"You must always expect the unexpected in the shinobi world. As my apprentice, it is entirely possible, and in fact very likely that you will one day take over my spy network. You have to learn to always make provision for the possibility that the information you've collected might either be incorrect or it might possibly be outdated. Any situation can change and what you expected might not neccesarily be what you encounter. You can spend countless hours and days making preparations for a situation and everything might change in a heartbeat and you have to improvise and adapt accordingly. This is not only true for a spy master, but for a chuunin as well, one who will be required to lead squadrons at times." Jiraiya explained.

"J-Jiraiya-sama, you're not planning to fight Naruto-kun yourself are you?" Shizune asked fearfully.

"Not quite, **kuchiyose no jutsu!**" Jiraiya exclaimed after drawing blood from his thumb, planting his right hand on the surface of the earth as he summoned a gigantic purple toad with a black coat, a huge shield held in it's left hand, and a two pinned staff on it's right hand, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi suddenly finding themselves 50 metres higher than they were before with a great view of the whole village.

"I've never met this toad before, who are you?" Naruto demanded authoratively.

"You're the other toad summoner, the one who fought Shukaku with the boss aren't you?" The toad asked curiously.

"Yes, that is me. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto introduced himself.

"I am Gamaken. Even though I'm clumsy compared to the boss, I would also like to fight by your side one day." Gamaken said humbly.

"Me too. But it seems like we'll be fighting against each other today." Naruto replied.

"These are my rules Naruto! You may not use the fox's power, and you have to either defeat Gamaken or survive him for twenty four hours in order to pass the exam. Those are the only rules. Do you accept the conditions?" Jiraiya shouted from above the giant toad.

"I accept!" Naruto replied.

"Okay, Kakashi, Shizune, Hime, lets go!" Jiraiya ordered, using the shunshin technique again to get away from the impending battle, but not before telling Gamaken not to hold back against the blonde Uzumaki.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Jiraiya?" Tsunade demanded, pulling Jiraiya close to her with her left hand by the scruff of the neck, her right one cocked back and ready to deliver a knockout blow if the response was not to her satisfaction.

"The point is to get him to back down from joining the ANBU, not to crush his will completely." Jiraiya replied with a surprisingly serious tone.

"I'm not sure I follow Jiraiya-sama, wouldn't fighting against Kakashi-san have accomplished the same thing?" Shizune asked with a confused expression.

"No, Jiraiya-sama is correct. I temporarily lost it there for a second. It's my fault for getting riled up by Naruto's words, it was a rookie mistake on my part." Kakashi said apologetically.

"What the hell are you two baphoons talking about?" Tsunade asked irritably.

"What I mean is that Kakashi lost control of his emotions and was about to crush Naruto. It's not his fault, Naruto has a way of getting to even the most composed and calmest of hearts, it's the reason he was able to persuade you to come back to the village, and also the reason he has been able to get so many people to acknowledge him, even dark people like the Hyuga and Shukaku brat. However, this personality trait can also be a double edged sword, we would have seen the negative side effects of it if I hadn't intervened." Jiraiya explained, causing both Shizune and Tsunade's eyes to widen in surprise at that revelation.

"I...I see, that certainly makes sense now that you've explained it..." Tsunade trailed off thoughtfully, finally releasing Jiraiya from her dangerous grasp, Jiraiya breathing a huge sigh of relief, knowing that his very existence had been temporarily compromised for a second there.

"Ahem. I'm glad you intervened Jiraiya, however, the situation doesn't seem to have changed much. It seems like we only switched from an overwhelming difference in skill and experience to an overwhelming difference in power and experience." Tsunade observed.

"The circumstances have changed but our mission is still the same. Naruto must not join the ANBU and he must go on the training trip with Jiraiya-sama. Gamaken-san is a more than worthy substitute." Kakashi replied.

"Well, anyway it looks like they've about to start. Lets see what happens." Tsunade said, everyone now paying attention to the battlefield.

"I don't know all the details, but I've been ordered to defeat you or hold you off for tweny four hours. Bunta-sama has spoken highly of you, so don't expect me to hold back." Gamaken warned.

"That's my line for you! **Water Style: Great Nine Tailed Demon Fox Technique!" **Naruto exclaimed with his hands clasped together, creating an incredible amount of water from thin air, using shape manipulation to shape it into a nine tailed fox that was even bigger than Gamaken, Naruto's body floating in the middle of the head as he faced off against the gigantic toad.

To say everyone, and that means everyone, was shocked would be an incredible understatement, Shizune, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Gamaken unable to believe not only the fact that Naruto was able to create water out of thin air, not only the sheer size and scale of the water, but even the nature of the jutsu itself, seemingly creating a summon level creature with elemental and shape manipulation alone, without even molding any hand seals.

"This is my great nine tailed demon fox technique, this technique was inspired by both the entity that lives within me and kiri's water prison technique. As you might or might not know, the surface of the water prison technique is many times harder than steel and the water inside is also many times denser than normal water. In other words, if you exchange blows with me now, you will most certainly break a number of bones in your body, worse case scenarios, you outright die or become crippled for life." Naruto explained patiently.

"So I'll ask you this only once, are you sure you want to fight me? You have the option to forfeit you know." Naruto asked.

"I don't want to fight you, but I have my orders, and I don't back down from a challenge. I'll fight you!" Gamaken declared passionately.

"Clumsy as I am..." The warrior toad muttered not so warrior like.

_'He's completely submerged in the water. Therefore, this can't be a technique that he can use for an extended period time. But he's also probably aware of this himself, so he must have trained his lungs to hold his breath for a long time. No, I shouldn't be too worried about that, no matter how much he trains his lungs, he's still only human.' _Gamaken thought as he leaped up into the air with every intention of getting the first blow in, only to be swiftly and harshly pulled back down to earth, both physically and mentally, two tails of Naruto's nine tailed water fox bursting out of the ground and grabbing tightly on Gamaken's ankles.

_'He can change the shape of the tails into arms?' _Gamaken thought in shock, but swiftly broken out of his split second trance as he was shoulder charged with devastating force by the demon water fox.

The result was quite devastating and incredibly smart and strategic from Naruto as Gamaken's body was flung away at a rapid force and speed, but because of Naruto's water limbs holding tightly at Gamaken' ankles, a recoil effect from being flung in two directions caused Gamaken's arms both reflexively and by force to get flung bakcwards, leaving his guard open for Naruto to exploit as Gamaken's whole body became open for attack. To ensure that Gamaken's guard remained open, Naruto shaped three more tails into arms and used them to further pin the giant toad down, all three water arms bursting from under the ground and enclosing on each of their targets, one around each wrist and one around the mouth area.

"Now you can't form hand seals and you can't spit out any jutsu from your mouth cavity either, on top of the fact that your powerful toad legs can't elevate you anymore." Naruto said with a cold expression in his eyes.

"This is the part where I would usually ask you to surrender, but I won't be taking any chances." Naruto said as he delivered a devastating downward punch on Gamaken's torso, the impact of the punch dwarfing anything that even Tsunade was capable of producing with her super strength technique, the whole landscape becoming deformed and reshaped, a forest's worth of trees tumbling under the earthquake like effects of the force exerted on the earth. A puff of smoke could be seen surrounding the area where Naruto's water arm had impacted on the earth, this time having used the water fox's upper frontal limbs to launch his attack.

_'Did he dispell himself just before impact? Or did Jiraiya-sensei cancel the summoning himself?' _Naruto pondered to himself.

_"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is that you won the battle, this qualifies as a retreat doesn't it?" _Haku responded.

_"Yes, yes indeed dattebayo." _Naruto replied, causing Haku to chuckle at Naruto's verbal tick kicking in after quite some time now. Haku had tried very hard to get rid of it by administering heavy penalties and punishments every time Naruto had a relapse, however, he'd eventually found out that it was impossible to completely get rid of it, it would always come back when Naruto was overly excited. The important thing was that he didn't use it anywhere near as often as he used to before, in fact, he never used it anymore as long as he was calm and composed, or focused on a specific task.

Unable to detect any further threats with his keen senses, the blonde Uzumaki cancelled his water style: great nine tailed demon fox technique, the fox completely evaporating in a matter of seconds thanks to the blonde Uzumaki's ability to manipulate hydrogen and oxygen atoms. It was a solution he had come by because of the implications and consequences of simply cancelling the chakra feed to his jutsu, as that would mean that he would run the risk of drowning his comrades or even worse, innocent civilians that might have been in the vicinity at the time. If he couldn't evaporate it, the jutsu could have potentially been useless in terms of protecting comrades or protecting the village, and Naruto felt that he had no use for a jutsu like that, as shinobi worked in teams most of the time anyway.

"Ooooi! I defeated and conquered your challenge! Come out and face the music!" Naruto shouted in the direction that he knew his superiors were.

"I...I can't believe Naruto-kun defeated Gamaken-san on his own, that's...it's just unbelievable!" Shizune exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

"That's the least of it Shizune, just what the hell is that jutsu that Naruto used just now? How can a genin be capable of producing a jutsu of that scale? He didn't even use the kyubi's chakra did he...?" Tsunade trailed off in shock.

"No, I was unable to detect any of the fox's chakra with my sharingan, that was all Naruto. But to think that he could produce a jutsu like this from just seeing Zabuza's water prison that one time." Kakashi thought, trying to keep his cool but despite that anyone with even a single brain cell would be able to tell just how astonished he was.

"This is bad, I didn't expect Naruto to defeat Gamaken, and I certainly didn't expect him to be hiding such a monstrous trump card. When did he learn elemental manipulation anyway?" Jiraiya asked, his eyes cast on Kakashi accusingly.

"Don't look at me, I had no idea myself. More importantly, how did he even learn elemental manipulation so quickly? No, actually, how is it even possible for him or anyone for that matter to have a water jutsu that powerful. I've never heard of anything like that before, not even from Hoshigaki Kisame and Nidaime-sama." Kakashi pointed out.

"None of that is important right now. What's important is what you have to do now Kakashi." Tsunade said authoratively.

"Uhm, I'm not sure I understand Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked with a slightly confused expression.

"We have to stop Naruto from getting that chuunin promotion at all costs, at least until after he goes on the training trip with Jiraiya. I'm sure this ANBU and hunter nin nonsense will be out of his head by then. So we'll have to go back to plan A, you'll have to do the bell test and make sure that he doesn't win." Tsunade said with a determined expression.

"T-Tsunade-sama! I urge you to reconsider, I know that we didn't set any specific parameters regarding this part of the exam, or any part of it actually, but Naruto-kun is not stupid, he'll realise what's happening and he won't like it. No genin would ever have to defeat Gamaken in order to get a promotion in the first place, and it goes without saying that they wouldn't be expected to fight an elite jonin right after fighting a boss level toad summon. If you do this, I fear that our relationship with Naruto-kun might become permanently damaged. Please reconsider your decision Tsunade-sama!" Shizune pleaded desperately.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Shizune on this one. This decision could backfire horribly. Naruto is already estranged with the villagers and most of the shinobi force because of what he is, if he becomes estranged with the higher ups as well, then we might as well have created another Sasuke or even worse, Orochimaru. We have to be careful how we handle things from here on out." Kakashi said with a voice of reason.

"Then what do you expect me to do? Let Naruto join the ANBU? Kakashi, you know what it's like in there, do you really want to see Naruto go through that on top of everything that he's been through already?" Tsunade asked desperately.

"Don't lose hope so soon Tsunade-hime! There's still a written test coming up isn't there? If there's anything I know about my apprentice, it is that written exams are his greatest weakness. I'm told that he is the only genin in the history of the chuunin exams who passed the writen exam without answering a single question." Jiraiya said with a small chuckle.

"Where did you get that nonsense Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked incredulously.

"It's true. I heard it once from Anko. According to her, Ibiki says that Naruto didn't even attempt a single question in the written exam. They are under the impression that Naruto had already figured out the true purpose of the exam from the beginning, but I, as his sensei, know better than anyone that there is no way Naruto knew any of the answers, and he almost definitely did not figure out the hidden meaning behind it. He probably had no idea what to do." Kakashi explained.

"So you're saying that Naruto-kun will definitely fail the written exam that we have prepared for him?" Shizune asked curiously

"Most certainly." Kakashi replied confidently.

"Okay! Lets do this!" Tsunade declared, slamming her palm against her fist excitedly as she walked out of the shadows and into the clearing to meet up with the blonde haired Uzumaki.

"So you finally decided to show up and bask in my awesomeness?" Naruto taunted.

"Don't get ahead of yourself brat, you're not a chuunin yet, we still have the written part of the exam, plus, you still have to prove to us that you won't endanger your squad mates by losing control of the fox." Tsunade chastised.

"Part of the reason for joining the ANBU is to gain the emotional control required in order to control and supress the fox's sinister intent, so I don't understand why you would deny me entry because of a current lack of control. There's also the fact that I'm going to be a hunter nin, I was under the impression that hunter nin mostly work alone." Naruto said with an enquiring undertone.

"Only the elite of the elite ever hunt alone. You're still a rookie, you won't work alone until you get an A class ranking, that is if you even make it through the upcoming tests." Kakashi retorted.

"If that's all, then I will be hunting alone in no time at all tebayo." Naruto said excitedly, although he wasn't even half or even a quarter as loud and boisterous as he was just over four months ago.

"Anyway, before we carry on, we have a few questions for you Naruto..." Tsunade trailed of with a serious tone, giving Naruto a meaningful stare.

"You want to ask about my water manipulation and the jutsu I used on Gamaken-san?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Well now that we got that out of the way, where did you learn water manipulation, and who taught you about elemental manipulation?" Tsunade demanded.

"I've known about elemental manipulation for a while now, it would actually be quite silly of me not to know about it given how often Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei used it. As for learning how to actually use it, I'm self taught." Naruto replied simply.

"Self taught? You're telling me you taught yourself such a high level technique like the one you used on Gamaken?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"Do you know anyone else who uses the great nine tailed demon fox technique?" Naruto asked with equal incredulity.

"..."

"How did you teach yourself elemental manipulation exactly? I mean, it's not that I'm doubting you Naruto-kun, but I've never heard of such a thing in my life before." Shizune asked, the only one Naruto noted who was more curious than suspiscious of him.

"I taught myself the the shadow clone technique didn't I? Why is it hard to believe that I can teach myself water manipulation when I have such a strong affinity for it?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"That's different though, you had a scroll from which to learn kage bunshin from, where did you get a water manipulation scroll, or who is it that taught you?" Jiraiya asked again.

"I can gaurantee you that no one alive under the sun and the moon taught me elemental manipulation. I am self taught through trial and error. I practically lived in the water for the past four months." Naruto explained in exasperation.

"Okay fine whatever, just tell me how many water techniques do you know exactly?" Tsunade demanded authoratively.

"Too many to count. It would be best to assume that I know at least 75 percent of every water jutsu out there." Naruto replied.

"And all of that is self taught?" Jiraiya asked suspisciously.

"In case you haven't realised, I've had alot of encounters with water release users, there's Momochi Zabuza, Yuki Haku, Aoi of Ame, an Ame genin team in the chuunin exams, and there's even Kakashi-sensei and the boss toad Gamabunta. Gamakichi is also good at water manipulation. I've also created my own variations like the jutsu you just saw just now." Naruto explained.

"That's quite alot of jutsu to learn in just four months, learning and mastering a single element alone can even take up to three years, and you not only did it in four months, but you managed to create what is probably the most powerful water element any of us have ever seen. That is logically impossible, even a genius like Sasuke wouldn't be able to do something like that." Kakashi argued.

"You've always thought of him as superior to me haven't you?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"N-Naruto, that's not what I meant..."

"No, it's fine. But remeber that we are talking about the same Sasuke who learned lightning style and chidori in just one month, and we are talking about the same Naruto who learned shadow clone in a two hours and rasengan in three weeks. Contrary to popular belief, I'm a genius in my own right too, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied in a dead serious tone.

"N-Naruto..."

"Anyway Naruto! I need you to promise you won't use that technique recklessly." Tsunade said.

"What technique ack!" Naruto cried out, Tsunade punching him hard on the head in anger and irritation.

"What the hell do you think I'm talking about? You'll damage your respiratory system or even kill yourself if you use that technique on regular basis. You can only hold your breath for so long while expanding that much chakra before your respiratory system collapses. Not to mention the brain damage you might get from the severe lack of oxygen" Tsunade argued.

"Not true at all."

"What did you say...?" Tsunade asked with a threatening undertone.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not undermining your medical expertise, but I know my own jutsu better than anyone else. You see, I happen to have the ability to manipulate hydrogen and oxygen atoms, hence the ability to create water out of thin air, along with the ability to evaporate my jutsu instead of flooding the whole battlefield after use. I don't need to breathe in the conventional sense of the word, I can oxygenate my lungs, my blood stream, my tissues, my cells, and my organs with my ninjutsu prowess as a result of this power over oxygen and hydrogen that I have. Ofcourse it means that I expand more chakra as a result, but the rich oxygen and even hydrogen levels means that I regenerate chakra that much faster, as my body functions at an optimal level when I use this jutsu, plus I have alot of chakra to burn anyway." Naruto replied with a proud smile.

_'And my chakra control is twenty times better compared to the atrocious control I had before.' _Naruto thought.

_'This is amazing! When did Naruto-kun become so smart?' _Shizune thought with a heart full of pride and admiration, a small blush adorning each one of her cheeks.

_'When did my apprentice grow up so fast? Does he have someone else mentoring him? Kakashi doesn't seem to know anything about his sudden growth either, so does that mean that he has a secret teacher? That wouldn't be a problem under normal circumstances, except that this isn't a normal circumstance, Naruto is Konoha's ultimate weapon, no one is allowed to interact with him so intimately unless he or she is trusted by the Hokage and their intentions are ascertainable. I'll have to investigate this thoroughly. No, I won't be able to keep an eye on him while I'm away, I should get Kakashi to help me out on this one.' _Jiraiya thought wearily

"Hmmm...I suppose that makes sense...somewhat. But I'm warning you, if I find out that you're hiding anything from me..." Tsunade said threateningly.

"You'll pulverise me, yeah, I get that. Now lets get on with the next part of the exam shall we. What is it, control over the fox? How do we do this?" Naruto demanded impatiently.

"We need you to ummm..."Tsunade trailed off contemplatively.

_'He could use a one tailed chakra cloak four months ago according to the report he gave regarding his battle with the Uchiha brat. Given the results of his four month training vacation, I'm willing to bet that he spent all of his time working on water manipulation alone. He shouldn't have had a chance to work on his jinchuuriki powers. If both Tenzo and Jiraiya were here, I'd make him use five tails just to make sure he fails, but with only Jiraiya available right now, I don't want to put everything on his sealing tags alone, that would be dangerous without Tenzo's mokuton to back us up should something go wrong.' _Tsunade thought contemplatively.

"I want you to demonstrate the ability to produce three tails without losing control. If you can do that, then I'll let you do the written exam." Tsunade ordered.

_'I can trust Jiraiya's tags to handle three tails with no problem. If he fails to supress three tails with his tags then I'll kill him with my bare hands.' _Tsunade rationalized sadistically.

"Three tails huh? Hehehe! Child's play." Naruto said confidently.

"Wait Naruto!" Jiraiya said hastily.

"What?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"There's alot of people watching us now, many of them must have seen your water fox and Gamaken fighting. Then there's also the earthquake that you caused. It would be better we do this somewhere else don't you think, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically.

"Hmmmm...alright fine, we'll cancel the fox test. It's not that important given the fact that the whole point of the trip is for you to teach him how to control it anyway, and there's someone who can help him with that in the ANBU too as you know. So lets just skip to the written test immediately, we'll all watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't cheat. Follow me." Tsunade ordered as she shunshined back towards her office, Kakashi, Shizune, Jiraiya, and Naruto following right behind her, both Haku and Naruto wondering just who was this person in the ANBU that could help them to master the fox's chakra.

**0000000000000**

"I don't believe this..." Tsunade trailed off in astonishment, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Shizune hovering over her shoulder as they all looked at Naruto's marked script, a script showing a mark of 200 out of 200, in other words, a one hundred percent mark, an uncomfortable silence taking hold of the Hokage's office post Naruto's departure.

"He must have cheated somehow, there's no other explanation." Jiraiya concluded.

"That's not possible, we were all watching him carefully throughout the whole thing, and more importantly, I had my sharingan trained on him the whole time. I'm quite certain I didn't miss anything. Besides, even if he had really cheated, he'd have only proved himself worthy of a chuunin promotion just by that feat alone, he'd have acted like a real shinobi should when confronted with a difficult situation." Kakashi retorted.

"Kuso! I can't believe this is happening, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this!" Tsunade thought out loud, frustration clearly written all over her facial features.

"Maybe Jiraiya-sama can still convince him to change his mind?" Shizune suggested.

"No, that won't work. Naruto will never abandon his nindo. Once he makes a promise, even if to himself, he definitely and without compromise goes out of his way to fulfil it. He'd probably choose death over going back on his word." Kakashi replied.

"I see. Well, I know this might be something out of place to say, but am I the only one that thinks that chuunin vest looks great on Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked rhetorically, apologising and asking that they forget she said anything when she felt the killing intent coming from all three of the elite shinobi she was surrounded by, a nervous expression etched onto her facial features.

**Meanwhile: right outside the Hokage building...**

"N-Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed with a slight stutter, a pissed off expression etched onto her facial expression, but not only hers, Tenten and Ino also not pleased at all if the expressions on their faces were anything to go by.

The last thing Naruto expected when he left the Hokage building was to see the whole rookie eleven gathered together like this, or rather, rookie ten since Sasuke was no longer part of the village. Ofcourse he'd sensed their chakra before he left the building, but he figured it wouldn't be so much of a bad idea to see them one more time before he disappeared, and besides he was quite curious as to why they were all bundled up together like this. He could honestly say that he hadn't seen all of them together in one place since the chuunin exam preliminaries, and it hadn't been by choice by back then, it was purely coincidence as the waiting area was only so big.

"Yo! What are you guys all doing here? It's not going to be my birthday anytime soon so I doubt you're planning a surprise birthday party for me, unless ofcourse, you're planning a chuunin promotion party for me? Hmmm...no, you couldn't have known about that could you? I guess it's something else..." Naruto trailed off with a thoughtful expression.

"Hmmm...I can't really think of anything else, so why don't you guys tell me what's up?" Naruto asked with an eye smile.

"I...I'm glad you're okay N-Naruto-kun! W-we were all s-so worried about you." Hinata said with a heavy blush, shyly pressing her fingers together, her eyes cast downwards nervously.

"You stole my line Hinata-chan. You know I've really been worried about you, in fact, I was planning to come and check on you before my departure. You look very good and healthy though, have you fully recovered from your injuries?" Naruto asked curiously, causing Hinata's eyes to widen in shock at Naruto's words, her heart leaping and dancing happily, the Hyuga princess overjoyed at the possibility that she was all that had been in Naruto's thoughts since he disappeared.

"It's been four months since you disappeared dumbass! Ofcourse her injuries have healed over that time. Hinata-chan is not that weak, certainly not as weak as you!" Kiba said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde Uzumaki.

"I know she's not weak, Hinata-chan is the bravest kunoichi I know after all." Naruto said with a geniune smile, his arms folded behind his head with a completely relaxed and satisfied demeanor, Hinata staring at the blonde Uzumaki with a shocked but joyful expression, almost on the verge of tears as she couldn't believe that she was receiving such praise and recognition from her long term crush.

Sakura on the other hand didn't look so good at the moment, she'd also been training very hard in the last four months and she'd finally managed to revive a dead fish with her new medical skills, an achievement that meant that she had finally mastered, or it least learned how to use the mystic palm technique. She'd thought that she was getting closer to Naruto and Sasuke and she'd started to feel good about herself. Truthfully speaking, she couldn't wait to show off to Naruto, looking forward to the words of praise that he would have for her. But for him to so easily and most of all, sincerely say that Hinata was the bravest kunoichi that he knew left her in total limbo in that moment because that was the sort of praise she wanted and felt that she deserved from Naruto. She honestly didn't know how that truly made her feel, although she did absolutely know for a fact that she didn't like that it made her feel that way, and she definitely didn't like to hear him speaking so fondly about another woman. In fact, she had been about to pulverise him right then there. If someone asked her why, she'd just say that she could see through Naruto's tactics, that he was influenced by his perverted sensei and that she wouldn't allow him to lure innocent Hinata-chan into his trap, afterall, when had Naruto ever given any woman other than her so much attention before he met Jiraiya. Perhaps it was good fortune that Shikamaru chose that moment to cast his laziness aside and decide it wasn't too troublesome for him to talk, or team seven would have been found guilty of infighting again and prove that they were the most disfunctional team in the leaf.

"Naruto, is there something wrong with my eyes or is that a chuunin vest that you're wearing? And is there something also wrong with my ears or did you say something about your chuunin promotion?" Shikamaru asked suspisciously.

"Oh yeah you guys don't know do you?" Naruto said in mock surprise, a mischievious smirk plastered on his facial features, one that put everyone on edge as it was eerily similar to the expression he usually had when he was about to pull off one of his juvenile but also surprisingly intricate pranks.

"No we don't. That's why we all decided to come to the Hokage office to demand some answers. Although Ino and Sakura practically dragged us all the way here." Shikamaru drawled out.

"There's also the matter of the giant water fox and the toad that we saw fighting very close to the village proper. Neji and Shikamaru insisted that both the fox and the toad had something to do with you" Shino said in his forever emotionless voice.

_'Neji and Shikamaru huh? Out of all of my friends in Konoha, they are without a doubt the ones that are most likely to have figured out the secret behind my existence. It would be one thing if they concluded that the toad had something to do with me, but both the fox and the toad?'_ Naruto thought wearily.

_"I have to agree with you on this one Naruto-kun. They definitely know." _Haku replied.

"Well, are you going to tell us what's going on or do I have to mind rape it out of you?" Ino asked with a sinister undertone.

"Or would you prefer a more unconventional method?" Sakura asked, smashing her right fist against her left hand menacingly.

"Hold your panties ladies. First I'll answer Shikamaru's question. No, actually, I'll just tell you everything that's happening." Naruto said, taking a deep and long breathe before carrying on with his explanation.

"First thing you have to understand is that I'm a very famous and popular figure in the continent." Naruto started off, causing everyone to facefault at Naruto's seemingly ridiculous claim.

"Naruto...!" Sakura said with a malicious tone.

"I know it sounds totally ridiculous, but it's actually true. I'm famous and popular in Moon Country, the Hidden Star Village, the former Snow Country, now known as Spring Country, and Wave Island. They even named the longest and biggest bridge in the world, the bridge that connects Wave Island to the main land, after me. It's called the Great Naruto Bridge now, you can check it out if you don't believe me." Naruto said, gaining everyone attention now that they realised just how serious he was.

"Because of this, my name has spread out to other countries as well, even countries outside the elemental nations. As a result, I have received an S class mission request, requesting specifically my services and mine alone. It has come from Demon Country and it is a long term mission that will last for three years minimum."Naruto lied through his teeth.

It wasn't a complete lie however, he did get a mission request from the Demon Priestess Miruko, but he'd lied about both the timing and the duration of the mission. The mission request stipulated only that Naruto would have to aid Miruko's daughter in her fight against a great evil that threatens the whole world, and that he would only have to leave for Demon Country on a specific date three and a half years from now, in other words, Naruto wasn't going to Demon Country for at least three years contrary to what he told his comrades. However, this was the cover story he and Tsunade had agreed upon and therefore that is what he had to tell anyone who asked, that is if he decided to answer the question in the first place.

"Wait a minute what? You're telling me you're gonna be gone for more than three years on a single mission? What kind of mission takes three years?" Tenten asked in disbelief, a sentiment shared by everyone of the rookie 10.

"I can't disclose the mission specifics. But all you have to know is that Hokage-sama refused the..."

"Byakugan/B-Byakugan!" Neji and Hinata exclaimed at the same time, both simultaneously activating their prized doujutsu, unashamedly scanning every inch of the blue eyed Uzumaki.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan, Neji?" Naruto asked hastily.

"My apologies Naruto, but I had to make sure." Neji replied as he deactivated his byakugan, Hinata also deactivating hers a few seconds later, a heavy and deeper than usual blush spotting on each of her cheeks, causing both Naruto and Haku to wonder just what the hell she was actually looking at.

"Had to make sure of what?" Naruto asked with a confused expression.

"I noticed it the first time, but when you did it again I realised that it would be neglegent on my part to let it slide again." Neji explained.

"I'm not sure I follow?" Naruto said with an enquiring undertone.

"Your speech pattern has changed drastically. The pitch of your voice is significantly lower and your pronounciation of words is much more formal and accurate. But more importantly is the absence of your _dattebayo _catch phrase and your use of the proper title and honorific when refering to the Hokage. Hinata-sama noticed the same thing as I did and that's why we had to make sure." Neji explained with his typical calm and composed aura surrounding him.

_'And you've never paid that much special attention to Hinata-sama before, more especially when she's in a crowd. Your praise and attention must have made her suspiscious of you.' _Neji thought internally.

"Ah so that's what it is? Hehehehe! Ninjutsu isn't the only thing I've been working on over the past four months. I've come to realise that I need to start thinking and acting like a Hokage already if I'm ever going to reach my dream, or if I'm ever going to surpass my predecessors." Naruto explained himself.

"That certainly makes alot of sense when you put it that way. But could you please get back to what you were saying before the interuption." Tenten said impatiently.

"Okay where was I again? Oh, yes, a long term S rank mission. You see the thing is, Hokage-sama refused to acknowledge the mission request, she thought that it might be a trick from an enemy that is after me, more specifically, a scheme by Akatsuki to capture me..."

"Akatsuki? What the hell is that? Sounds like some crazy cult." Ino cut in.

"It's an organisation of S ranked criminals, in other words, an organisation comprised of kage level ninja criminals, the most dangerous organisation in the world." Naruto explained.

"Oh please I'm not listening to this nonsense anymore. Come Sakura, maybe we'll get better answers from Tsunade-sama." Ino said as she attempted to walk past the blonde Uzumaki and into the Hokage building, only for Naruto to grab her by the wrist with a near bone crushing grip.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm done explaining everything. You need to hear this for both yours and my own good. I'm tired of hiding and more importantly, keeping this a secret is no longer benifitial to anyone. It would be selfish of me if I continued to keep it a secret because it will put all your lives in grave danger for as long as the possibility of us going on missions together in the future exists." Naruto said with a deathly tone.

"Stop trying to make yourself seem important you histrionic nut job...!"

"Shut up and listen! Ino!" Shikamaru exclaimed angrily, causing Ino's eyes to widen in shock, never ever having heard Shikamaru speak like that to her, or anyone for that matter.

"Naruto has something important to tell you. Show some respect, if not for him then at least for yourself." Shikamaru emphasized sternly, causing Ino to shrink away pathetically, not having any experience in dealing with such a scary version of Shikamaru.

"Thank you Shikamaru, now all of you listen carefully. Don't interup me until I'm done explaining." Naruto ordered, finally letting go of Ino's left hand wrist, everyone now listening attentively, even Sakura, who almost never listened to anything Naruto had to say unless it involved Sasuke.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, the monster of the mist, also known as the tailless bijuu because of his monstrous chakra reserves, were both sited inside Konoha about a week after Orochimaru's invasion. They are both members of the Akatsuki and they came here looking for me. Fortunately I was away from the village with Jiraiya-sensei at the time but that didn't stop them from following me to Tanzuki Town. They found me alone in a hotel room but thankfully Jiraiya-sensei and later Gai-sensei arrived to save me. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were both put in a coma by Itachi's genjutsu when they clashed with him but both recovered thanks to Jiraiya-sensei and I bringing Godaime-sama back to the village." Naruto explained, taking a momentary pause before carrying on where he left off.

"It is also believed that Orochimaru is a former member of this organisation just so you understand just how powerful these guys are and how lucky I am to have avoided capture so far. Now the answer to the obvious question as I am sure you all want to know why they are after me. The answer is simple and not so simple at the same time, it might come as a big shock to some of you but it is about time you found out about me. I'll just put it out there right away, the Fourth Hokage didn't kill the kyubi. It is in fact impossible to kill a bijuu. I am the kyubi, just as Gaara is the ichibi. These beasts were sealed into us at birth and over time our chakras have been merging together and the connection between us and the beasts inside are getting stronger, actually, Gaara's connection with his beast was already so strong that you could barely differentiate between him and the demon inside him at the chuunin exams. But that's not the point right now, the point is that Akatsuki want to capture us and extract these demons, killing us, the hosts in the process." Naruto explained, waiting patiently for everyone to recover from their shock.

"N-No way! I don't b-believe it. I...I refuse to b-believe that N-Naruto-kun is the kyubi!" Hinata said on the verge of tears.

"It's true Hinata-chan. Think about it, why do you think everyone in the village hates me so much? Take a look around you, see for yourself how the people passing by are looking at me." Naruto said, all the rookie 10 looking around and confirming, much to their astonishment just how real and how strong the village's hate was towards Naruto.

"Naruto..." Shino trailed off.

"Yes?"

"How long have you known that you are the kyubi?" Shino asked curiously.

"I found out on the night of the graduation exam, Mizuki-sensei told me just before he tried to kill me. I defeated him though, and he's in jail now." Naruto said as if this was the most normal thing in the world, completely ignorant, or at least feigning ignorance to the shear magnitude of the info that he was distributing and the terror it wrought on his comrades.

"N-no way! I refuse to believe anything you say!" Sakura exclaimed with her eyes closed, shaking her head vehemently in denial, almost as if to wish away the information from her mind.

"It's true. Mizuki-sensei convinced me that I could get a genin promotion if I stole the forbidden scroll of seals and managed to learn a jutsu from it, that's how I learned the shadow clone technique. He gave me a location for us to rendezvous just outside the village. He was actually secretly working for Orochimaru. He planned to kill me when we rendezvous and then take the scroll back to Orochimaru. You all know that I failed the academy promotion exam, but you all saw me the next day with a headband and I was allocated a team. My feat of stealing the scroll, learning the shadow clone, and defeating Mizuki is what earned me the promotion, and the achievement was recorded in my record as an A rank mission." Naruto continued, giving his comrades a few moments to take in the information before carrying on.

"Anyway, you know everything now except for how exactly I got my chuunin promotion. The thing is, Tsunade-sama refused to let me go on the mission on the grounds I listed earlier, that being a possible enemy or Akatsuki trying to lure me into a trap. She's a gambling addict so I managed to get her to make a bet with me. The deal was that she would give me a chuunin promotion and allow me to go on the mission if I passed any test that she wished to set up for me. The condition was that I would have four months to prepare. I was training in the forest of death and also living there for the last four months. Lee knows this because he and Gai-sensei helped me out with my taijutsu, stamina, speed, and strength training. Ofcourse I made them promise not to tell anyone where I was or what I was doing." Naruto added hastily, saving Lee from a world of hurt from Tenten, Ino, and Sakura, who he was sure by the looks on their faces that they would have done unspeakable things to him if he hadn't added that piece of information at the end.

"Anyway, the water fox you saw was my technique, a technique I used to defeat Gamaken, the giant toad that you all saw. That was part of the test. Originally I was meant to fight Kakashi-sensei and get two bells from his waist, but Jiraiya-sensei for one reason or another changed the test and had it that I either had to defeat Gamaken or last for twenty four hours against him. I was also not allowed to use my demon powers to win..."

"What demon powers?" Sakura asked with a terrfied expression.

"Ummm...didn't I just tell you that I'm the kyubi?" Naruto asked with a sweat drop.

"But I've never seen you use demon powers before? The only demon I ever saw was Gaara." Sakura argued vehemently, still apparently in denial mode Naruto realised.

"I used demonic chakra to defeat Haku in Wave Island, and I used demonic chakra to defeat Neji in the chuunin exams. I also used them against Orochimaru in the forest of death and against both Gaara and Sasuke at the valley of the end. I used the most against Sasuke, my body even transformed partially in a way similar to what you saw from Gaara, and I had a one tailed demonic chakra cloak surrounding me. I've used alot of demon chakra Sakura, you just haven't noticed yet." Naruto retorted, a shocked silence the only response he got from her, her mouth wide agape from information overload.

"Anyway, there was supposed to be a test to see if I can use a three tailed chakra cloak without losing control..."

"What do you mean by _losing control _?" Neji asked wearily.

"The demonic chakra is full of malicious intent, it has it's own will so to speak. Or rather, it has the kyubi's will. The kyubi is the incarnation of hate itself, so whenever I use his chakra, my thoughts and emotions become subject to his influence, my whole personality can change during the use of the demonic energy. If I use more than I can control, I could lose myself to hate and attack everyone in site, including comrades. Worst case scenario is that I make a full transformation and the kyubi takes over me completely, in other words, the kyubi could be reborn." Naruto said, not pulling anything back as he spilled out all the beans to his former classmates.

"N-no way! That can't be possible." Ino argued, fear and astonishment clearly written all over her facial features.

"It is unfortunately possible. However, the Fourth was the greatest seal master in the world, he probably has a fail safe of some sort installed in the seal. I'm still a novice at sealing arts though so I haven't been able to discern much about the seal, but I'll figure it out some time and who knows, I might become skilled enough to install my own fail safe some time in the future." Naruto said re-assuringly.

"No offense Naruto but I'm told the sealing arts require a more...intellectual and cultured mind in order to master..." Tenten trailed off.

"You're still underestimating me after everything that you've heard?" Naruto retorted.

"Ummm...well...I...okay, I'm sorry." Tenten said apologetically, even though she and everyone else still doubted Naruto could surpass the fourth in any field whatsoever.

"It's okay, I forgive you." Naruto said with a small smile.

"Ummm...thanks." Tenten replied awkwardly, a small red hue forming on each one of her cheeks, silently wondering when Naruto became so handsome and alluring, or mature for that matter.

"Naruto..." Kiba trailed off with a rare serious tone.

"What is it?" Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"When exactly are you leaving for your mission?" Kiba asked curiously.

"Tommorrow afternoon at 3p.m." Naruto lied through his teeth once again.

He was actually leaving to join the ANBU at 02:00am, but he knew that his cover story would be in jeopardy if his friends decided that they would see him off before his departure, a departure which wasn't going to actually take place since he would still be inside the village for quite some time still for his ANBU and more specifically, hunter nin training. He didn't really believe anyone would see him off, but he had to be vigilant, there was absolutely no margin for error. His friends would be told part of the truth if they did try to see him off, that his mission departure was actually two o'clock in the morning, but ofcourse, they would remain ignorant about the true nature of his mission if the Hokage was a woman of her word.

"Three o'clock tommorrow afternoon? Man how troublesome, you're always making things troublesome for everyone Naruto, your life itself is just troublesome." Shikamaru said in exasperation.

"Hehehe! I guess so. Anyway, I have to go and make preparations ya know, people to say goodbye to, clothing and weapons to pack, strategies to prepare, etcetera etcetera." Naruto said walking through and past his friends and comrades.

"Where do you think you're going Naruto? You're coming with us to see Tsunade-sama and we're going to get to the bottom of this nonsense. Don't forget that you made a promise to me, besides, it's not like you have a family to say goodbye to." Sakura ranted in frustration, everyone's heart in their mouths at Sakura's last statement, even Ino unable to believe just how insensitive her best friend could be. Naruto stopped ubruptly at Sakura's words, even he caught a little off guard by his teammate's cruel, selfish, and insensitive behaviour, a tense silence permeating the atmosphere in that moment.

"It's true that I don't have a family, but there are people that have earned a special place in my heart like Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Ayame nee-chan, and Teuchi oji-san. I'd like to spend some time with them before I go. Is that too much to ask, Sakura?" Naruto replied emotionlessly.

"I don't care for your excuses! You know what, fine, whatever, you've always been selfish and unreliable anyway. That's why Sasuke-kun..."

"That's enough Sakura!" Kakashi exclaimed from the entrance of the Hokage building, a great amount of killing intent directed at his only female student in that moment.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, when did you..."

"Hokage-sama wants to have a word with you, all of you except Naruto. I'd suggest you don't keep her waiting." Kakashi ordered viciously.

"But sensei Naruto..."

"Godaime-sama will explain everything in detail. Leave Naruto out of this, he has enough to deal with already..."

"Has enough to deal with? What, you think I don't have any emotions? Why is Naruto getting special treatment just because he's the..."

"Stop right there Sakura!" Naruto said hastily.

"What did you say to me?" Sakura asked with a threatening undertone.

"I forgot to tell you guys. Only the Hokage and I are permitted to disclose information about my status as a the kyubi's host. Otherwise it is an S ranked secret of which speaking of without permission from either the Hokage or I to someone who doesn't already know, or in such a manner that someone who doesn't already know can overhear you...is punishable by death." Naruto said dramatically, the wind, almost as if sensing the tension, blowing harder and causing a strong breeze to whisk through the silence.

"Keep that in mind from here on out." Naruto said as he resumed his journey away from his friends, teammate, and sensei, the blonde calmly walking away with his hands in his pockets.

"Where do you think you going? We're not..." Sakura trailed off as Naruto ignored her completely, the blonde Uzumaki disappearing in a spiralling water style shunshin technique, the water spiralling around his body and then evaporating immediately, along with Naruto's body it would appear as he was no longer there anymore.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed in frustration.

_'She's really not taking any of this well. Perhaps Naruto shouldn't have revealed so much at the same time. She's clearly struggling to process everything that's going on. It's almost like she's developing abandonment issues with Sasuke and now Naruto leaving. The next three years or so are probably going to be some of the toughest of her shinobi career, it will probably be a make or break experience.' _Kakashi thought analytically.

**One year later:**

"It's 11:55 right now, my daughter's life is in jeopardy, do we really have to wait for this mysterious hunter nin of yours while my daughter is in enemy territory?" Tsume asked in frustration, standing in a small clearing just outside the village along with a boar masked ANBU operative, the ANBU commander in fact, who spotted spiky brown hair and dark eyes under that mask of his, along with the standard ANBU gear, complete with metal plated armour and a tanto across the back. Also present and visibly unsettled was Kamiko, a very big and strong looking black ninja dog with gold slitted pupils and extremely sharpened teeth and claws.

Kamiko was actually one of Hana's three ninken, she was the one that Hana had sent to call for back-up because she was the fastest out out of the three. Hana was stuck in Kirigakure no Sato because she had run into a former swordsmen of the mist, Kurosuki Raiga, who was also a wielder of the lightning fangs. She and her team had been sent on a mission to assassinate the rogue swordsman because he had been burying villagers alive on a small settlement near the border of Fire Country. But either Raiga was stronger than they were lead to believe or the rogue swordsman had improved his skills drastically since he went rogue, because Hana was the only living survivor of her four men cell and even she had to admit that she would have been dead if it weren't for her teamwork with the ninken.

Kamiko had explained to Tsume that she believed that Raiga had intentionally driven Hana towards Kirigakure no sato, for what reason she didn't know why. But Tsume understood perfectly what Raiga had in mind and it was quite a simple strategy if one thought about it. Raiga didn't want anyone interfering with him and his prey, a sentiment that Tsume, as an Inuzuka, understood too well. It didn't matter if Hana managed to call for back-up because international law prevented Konoha shinobi from entering Water Country without permission from either the Water Daimyo or the Mizukage and their delegates, and given the state that Kiri was in at the moment, chances of receiving approval were close to negative one hundred percent.

If Konoha sent a large or even small task force to Water Country, and said task force was discovered, war would almost certainly become inevitable. Neither the Hokage or the ANBU commander could be expected to risk a full blown war for a single woman, even if said woman was an heiress of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans. Tsume understood that perfectly well, and even agreed with the sentiment, but that didn't mean that she wasn't hurt or anxious about the situation, what mother wouldn't? She'd almost given up but her tears, much as she hated how weak she felt because of them, were enough to get the Hokage and the ANBU commander to give her a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope that was vested in a single hunter nin shinobi, who was said to be the most skilled and most powerful of said division and had a one hundred percent success rate. More importantly, it was said that he had an in depth understanding of Kiri's tactics, geography, and ninjutu. It was said that if anyone could go in and out of Kiri without getting caught, then it was this particular individual.

"He said he would be here at noon, there are still five minutes left. Do not be anxious about his timing, he has never been late for any meeting before, I don't expect him to start today." Boar replied calmly, even though even he had to admit he was a little intimidated by the Inuzuka matriah, he honestly didn't know if he could win against her if she lost her cool and assaulted him. She was an experienced and professional kunoichi, he knew that well enough, but he doubted that she'd had to deal with something like this before and that didn't change the fact that her core nature was that of a savage animal. He was really hoping that Redfox wouldn't choose today of all times to be late for the first time in his ANBU career.

"You really believe in this guy don't you?" Tsume stated with a curious tone.

"Godaime-sama ordered that I personally handle his ANBU training for various reasons that are not to be discussed, so I know better than anyone else out there what he is capable of. He's a very scary guy, in fact, he reminds me alot of Uchiha Itachi, ofcourse, before anyone knew just how evil and sadistic he actually was." Boar replied with a somewhat proud tone.

"Well, if he also goes crazy, I hope it only happens after Hana-chan has been returned to her rightful place by my side." Tsume replied with a small chuckle.

"Don't joke about that. Konoha's extinction would become almost inevitable if such a thing happened." Boar retorted nervously.

"Okay okay that's enough. You don't have to exaggerate this guy's abilities so much just to make me feel better about the situation."

"I'm not exaggerating anything Tsume-sama. I'm totally serious." Boar replied, causing a very confused expression to morph into Tsume's facial features, unable to believe that such a person would exist without her being any wiser about it, only to be broken out of her thoughts by Kamiko's loud bark, looking in front of her only for her eyes to witness Redfox in his glorious presence, a young man, looking no older then fourteen if Tsume were to judge by size alone, walking towards the two of them calmly, the man wearing a white ANBU mask with a fox head painted in red over his mask, black shinobi sandals with white tape around the ankles, and a long, plain white, hooded cloak.

_'A white cloak? That is the outifit reserved for the highest ranked and most powerful member of each ANBU division. But he doesn't look that old, or is it a man of small stature? More importantly, why does this man have no scent? Even from this distance I can barely smell anything from him.' _Tsume thought analytically, not liking one bit of that aspect. A man who had no scent, to her clan, was a very dangerous person, a demon even, because it meant that this man could neither be tracked down or identified. It meant that even if someone killed him and another posed as him, she and her clan members wouldn't be able to identify the deception, and most importantly, that her clan was almost completely vulnerable to such a man.

"Good afternoon, Boar-taichou, Tsume-sama." The cloaked ANBU greeted with a respectful bow, his voice easily identifiable to Tsume as that of young teenager, definitely not of a fully grown man just as she suspected.

"Good afternoon Redfox. How was your mission?" Boar asked diplomatically.

"It was a success. There will be no rehabilitation for this individual, I killed her." Redfox replied.

"I see. That's quite unfortunate, but good job nonetheless. I know it is against protocol for you to deliver evidence in any place other than my office, but this is an exceptional circumstance. You need to leave immediately because we have an urgent mission for you. It is probably the most important and difficult mission you have ever had before." Boar explained.

"I understand. Here, the evidence of my success is in this scroll." Redfox replied, handing a sealing scroll over to his superior.

"Thank you, Redfox." Boar replied.

"No need to thank me. Just doing my job. Why don't you rather give me the details of this new mission?" Redfox requested.

"You already know who this is next to me apparently, so I won't go into that. What's important is that you have to eliminate Kurosuki Raiga of the Swordsmen of The Mist, and bring back Inuzuka Hana while you're at it, preferably alive and well. Right now she is either fleeing from Raiga, battling Raiga, is captured by Raiga, or has been killed by Raiga. Whichever the case may be, you must bring her back and you absolutely must assassinate Raiga, he has killed alot of innocent Fire Country civilians, burying them six feet under while they are still alive and breathing." Boar explained patiently.

"Okay, I understand. But tell me, do you know where they were last seen and where they might be? Also, is there anything you can tell me about Raiga other than what is in the bingo book?" Redfox asked curiously.

"Only that Raiga is stronger than what we imagined, in other words, a stronger and better version of what is in the bingo book. As for where they were headed, that is the real issue, the real reason why your expertise became a requirement." Boar explained.

"Go on..." Redfox said simply.

"Raiga seems to have driven his prey towards Kirigakure no Sato. We suspect that he is an adapt sensor type because according to Kamiko, Hana couldn't lose him no matter what she did and he stopped every attempt she made to run in any direction other than towards Kirigakure, or rather, Water Country. Kamiko will accompany you to where the battle took place and she will help you track them down. The other two of Hana's three ninken stayed behind and they will leave scent markings for you two to follow. Your own chakra sensing along with Kamiko's scent tracking should be sufficient for the mission." Boar carried on.

"So this ninken is Kamiko huh?" Redfox asked, bending down and scratching Kamiko behind the ear, Kamiko taking an instant liking to the young hunter nin, so much so that she practically jumped into his embrace, Redfox embracing and comforting the black furred ninken.

_'I don't believe this? Hana's ninken have never warmed up to any stranger before, actually, they have never warmed up to any other Inuzuka even, yet this young man who doesn't even have a scent is able to invoke such a reaction? What sourcery is this?' _Tsume thought in disbelief.

"Don't worry Kamiko-chan, we'll definitely save Hana-san okay?" Redfox said comfortingly, earning an excited bark from the canine creature.

"J-just who are you exactly?" Tsume demanded.

"I'll tell you when I reunite you and Hana-san again. For now, just know that everyone in Konoha is part of my extended family, so this isn't just a mission to me. I want to bring Hana-san back alive more than anything right now. I will carry those feelings as I conduct myself in this mission." Redfox replied, causing Tsume's eyes to widen in surprise before settling on a genuine and touched smile.

"Okay. I'll leave everything to you then, Redfox-san. " Tsume replied.

"Thank you, Tsume-sama. Now please excuse us, I don't want to waste any more time. Is there anything else you want to tell me, Boar-taichou?" Redfox asked.

"Yes there is actually. Failure might possibly lead to a full blown war. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the reason for this though. So with that said, good luck." Boar said sternly.

"Thank you." Redfox said with a respectful bow.

"Lets go Kamiko-chan." Redfox said, Kamiko barking in response as the two prepared to leave.

"Wait Kamiko-chan. I have a message for my daughter when you see her again." Tsume said hastily, bending down to whisper something in Kamiko's ear before stepping back with an accomplished smirk plastered on her facial features, a mischievious look morphing into her eyes as she watched the two disappear into the forest.

"That is quite a mysterious young pup, do you perhaps know why he doesn't have a scent?" Tsume asked curiously.

"I was unaware that he didn't have a scent. Why didn't you ask him when he was here just now?" Boar asked in surprise.

"I didn't want to waste any more time then we have already wasted. But maybe I'll ask him when he returns." Tsume said with a mysterious look in her eyes, Boar wondering what on earth was on this incredible but not so sane kunoichi's mind.

**3 days later: Water Country:**

_'This area is dangerously close to the Bloodline Rebellion Force's main base Naruto-kun. Keep that in mind as we proceed.' _Haku said with a warning tone.

_'Roger that.' _Redfox or rather, Naruto replied professionally, his chakra senses having detected where their targets were, both of them, which was a good thing because it meant that Hana was still alive and well, after all, his chakra sensing abilities would have been useless if she wasn't alive. He'd never encountered Raiga before and therefore there was no way he could have identified his chakra signature, but he'd met Kamiko-chan and Tsume-sama. The two ninken with Hana were Kamiko-chan's twin siblings, together they were a litter of tripplets, and Hana was Tsume's daughter. This meant that Naruto could identify their chakra signatures by virtue of familial relation, such was the level of his chakra sensing prowess.

"Follow me Kamiko-chan." Naruto ordered as he shunshined towards where the final showdown between Hana and Raiga was about to take place, the blonde Uzumaki and his ninken companion arriving just in time to see both Hana and Raiga about to use their strongest techniques.

**"Combination Transformation: Cerberus!" **Hana exclaimed furiously, Naruto mesmerised and even aroused beyond comprehension by the beastly yet elegantly beautiful woman before his eyes, her elongated canine teeth, her dark and slitted eyes, her razor sharp claws, and her incredible womanly curves, just everything about her captivating him to no end. Fortunately for him, he was able to break out of his arousal induced trance thanks to her combination tranformation technique. Gone was the woman of his dreams and gone were her ninken, replaced by a ferocious pitch black and gigantic three headed dog, something that also captivated and impressed Naruto, as it reminded him of his fox-like transformation when he uses his four tailed mode.

_"She seems like the perfect fit for you whichever way you look at it." _Haku said asmusedly.

_"Now is hardly the time for such thoughts Haku." _Naruto replied.

_"You're right. I should be asking you why you're just standing there and not doing anything."_Haku retorted.

_"I don't think I should interfere. I believe she can win this fight, or at least get a stalemate. I'll only interfere if it seems like she is not going to make it. I don't want to undermine her courage and perseverance, and I don't want to take away this experience from her. It is as you once taught me, that these close run ins between life and death are what develops a shinobi's spiritual energy, and therefore what makes you mentally, emotionally, and physically stronger as a shinobi. Lets believe in her shall we." _Naruto replied.

_"My my, you've grown up so much Naruto-kun. I'd be so proud right now if I were your older brother." _Haku said with a genuine smile.

_"You are my brother you dumbass! You're my mentor too, so there's no reason for you not to feel proud."_ Naruto replied, putting Haku into a stunned silence, though not having the time or the chance right now to enquire about that as things heated up on the battlefield.

"I'm not running away from you anymore you slimy bastard! And I will never submit to you!" The head in the middle exclaimed in a voice and language that was obviously Hana's, because the ninken couldn't speak in human toungue and it made sense that she was the headquarters of the jutsu, no pun intended.

"Uhuhuhuhuhuhu! You make my blood boil you feisty woman. You're going to give me wonderful and strong babies! I'll make you mine forever and ever! Hehehe! Where the fuck has a woman like you been all my life!" Raiga exclaimed with elation, a truly demented expression etched onto his facial features as he channelled almost all of his chakra into the lightning fangs.

"You sick twisted bastard! Allow me to end your miserable existence! **Rotating Fang!**" Hana exclaimed as she rolled in mid air, creating a buzz saw like vacuum effect as all the air was sucked into her and served to sharpen her form to the maximum, flying at break neck speeds towards the clinically insane swordsman.

**"Lightning Dragon Technique!" **Raiga exclaimed with his swords facing towards the sky, a bolt of lightning falling from the sky and into his swords, Raiga then pointing his sword towards Hana and releasing a gigantic dragon made out of electricity, the two jutsu clashing together in a violent storm of destruction and carnage.

Intially it seemed like no one would be able to get an advantage, but that was just a momentary set back for Hana, who's jutsu eventually pushed the lightning dragon backwards before shredding right through it. To say Raiga was surprised would be a massive understatement, however, thanks to his experience, Raiga was able to almost instantly recover, the swordsman, in record time, executing another one of his prized techniques, using the Lighting Armour to both protect himself and counter attack against Hana.

Raiga's version of a lightning armour was significantly different from the one the Raikage and his predecessors used. Raiga's version was composed of pure lightning drawn from the sky, and it required him to connect the Kiba's together to form one long and double edged weapon and then spin around rapidly, creating a vortex of lightning around himself. In all honestly, Raiga's naming was a bit off one had to say, as this was more like a lightning shield than a lightning armour.

Nevertheless, Hana's jutsu and Raiga's lightning armour were evenly matched, but only because the power and speed of Hana's jutsu had been reduced and slowed down by Raiga's lightning dragon, the shield and the buzz saw cancelling each other out in such a way that it caused an implosion and explosion of energy at the same time. The result was a backlash that was so strong that Hana and her ninken were seperated from each other, the beast transformation cancelling out and sending them flying miles and miles away, thier bodies crashing through one three after another and killing all three of them in the process, at least that's what would have happened had Naruto and his shadow clones not used the **shunpo no jutsu **and caught them in his arms, effectively saving all three of them from a horrible fate.

The fuuton: **shunpo no jutsu**, otherwise known as the **wind style, flash step technique **was a jutsu on Naruto's own creation. The theory behind it was simple enough, all you were required to do was to enhance your shunshin with your wind style manipulation. However, that was far easier said that done when it came to the actual mechanics behind the jutsu and application thereto. It required that you use your wind style to eliminate the air pressure and air resistance around your body while activating and utilising the shunshin technique, which once again, was far easier said that done. At the same time it was neccessory to enhance the explosive speed of your shunshin with your fuuton manipulation. The elimination of air pressure and air resistance was not only responsible for further increasing the speed of the jutsu, nor was it only for maximising Naruto's reaction time and swiftness of movement, it was also the reason why the jutsu was so deathly silent, which is why it was such a useful jutsu for assassinating targets, something that was part and parcel of Naruto's occupation as a hunter nin.

Raiga also would have been killed by the recoil effect from the explosion had Naruto's shadow clone not caught him. However, the intention was not to save his life but rather to save the life of the being inside the bag that he carried on his back as Naruto wanted to thoroughly investigate and understand the situation before anything else. He might need to interogate Raiga to get a clear picture of what was happening.

"W-what the hell is this? Who the fuck are you? And where did you come from?" Raiga snapped, on his knees and gasping for air as a result of the energy he had used up, the injuries from the explosion, and the seal markings spreading rapidly all over his body.

"I am a Konoha hunter nin, I go by the alias **Redfox**." Naruto replied as he carried the unconscious Hana bridal style until he was only two metres away from the demented swordsmen, his two other clones standing close behind him with the unconscious twin bitches.

"Don't bother trying to move or channel chakra, that fuinjutsu won't allow you to do either." Naruto said, only to be cut off by a vicious bark from Kamiko-chan.

"Relax Kamiko-chan, I just want to interogate him that's all. I'll eliminate him soon enough." Naruto explained, causing Kamiko to reluctantly back down.

"W-who are y-you?" Hana squeezed out tiredly, the kunoichi showing great resilience as Redfox did not expect her to regain consciousness so soon.

"I'm Redfox, the highest ranked member and representative of Konoha's hunter nin division. My mission is to eliminate Raiga and to ensure your safe return to the village." Naruto replied robotically.

_'Her feral features have mostly reclined, but she still looks incredibly beautiful, even in her currently worn out state.' _Naruto thought, Haku having to use an insane amount of restraint to refrain from teasing the blonde Uzumaki, sometimes it was quite troublesome to have another person constantly listening to every one of your thoughts.

"I...I see. I didn't think that they would actually send anyone." Hana replied.

"You're an important asset to the village, and I can see why the Hokage and ANBU commander think so highly of you. That was without a doubt the most incredible battle I have ever seen. You're an awesome kunoichi Hana-san. Quite frankly I don't understand why you're still a chuunin, you're without a doubt at the level of an elite jounin." Naruto replied, causing Hana, despite her current state, to blush shyly, never having ever received that kind of praise before from anyone, moreso from a male figure.

"Ummm...you don't have to say that just to make me feel better." Hana retorted.

"I'm serious. I'm actually going to recommend that Godaime-sama give you a jonin promotion exam as soon as we get home." Naruto replied, causing Hana's eyes to widen in surprise.

"N-no way. You're totally going overboard now." Hana argued defiantly.

"Really? I don't actually think I'm going overboard. Raiga has an A ranking in the bingo book. That's a Ranking reserved for elite jonin. More importantly, I've been told that he is quite significantly more powerful than he was when the bingo book entry was made. Do you still think I'm going overboard now, Hana-san?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"..."

"Don't worry though, you don't have to take the exam if you don't want to. I'm merely going to make sure that the higher authorities recognise your talent. What you do with it is entirely up to you. Is that okay, Hana-san?" Naruto asked softly.

"H-Hai. I guess I can't complain when you put it like that." Hana replied with a small and arrogant smirk, causing Naruto to smile happily under his mask.

"Do you think you can stand?" Naruto asked.

"Y-yeah, sure." Hana replied with a light blush, suddenly becoming self conscious as she realised the full extent of her situation, her clothes so ripped up that certain body parts became excessible to the naked eye and capped off by the position that she had found herself in, as in, the fact that Naruto was holding her as if he was about to throw her on their honeymoon bed and ravage her.

**00000000000000**

"Do you hate me for what I just did to Raiga, Ranmaru?" Redfox asked emotionlessly.

"I'm sad, but I don't hate you nor do I want revenge. I knew that Raiga-sama was not a good person, but he was all I had and he is the only one in the world that didn't look at me with fear or loathing. He is also the only one that gave me the opportunity to see the world, and valued me for what I am. I could have stopped him from doing all the bad things, I could have stopped him for good, but I didn't do it because I didn't want to be lonely. I'm so selfish, I deserve the same fate as Raiga-sama." Ranmaru said without blinking, neither Naruto or Hana able to sense any negative emotions from him except maybe self loathing.

"What are you going to do now, Redfox-san?" Hana asked fearfully, her heart crying out for the young boy in front of her despite the fact that he had contributed to the deaths of so many people, including her teammates. Still, she couldn't bring herself to hate the young boy in front of her after hearing his story, and she certainly didn't want to see him die.

"I haven't decided yet. He says that he doesn't hate us nor does he want revenge for Raiga. I believe him, but that's not enough for me to make a decision yet. I need you to answer a question first..." Naruto trailed off.

"Me? What do you want to ask me?" Hana asked with a confused expression.

"Hana-san? Do you hate Ranmaru? Do you want revenge against him? And do you want him to die?" Naruto asked with a stern and no nonsense voice.

"O...ofcourse not! He's just as much a victim as I am. I hated Raiga and I wanted revenge against him, and I got it. I...I don't want this child to die...but I also can't stop you from killing him, it's your job and your mission." Hana said with a tearful expression.

"Actually, my job is to eliminate threats to the village and my mission was to eliminate Raiga. Ranmaru is not a threat to the village and he was not my target." Naruto replied, causing both Hana and Ranmaru's eyes to widen in surprise, but for different reasons completely.

"No! You can't do that! You have to kill me!"

**Smack!**

Was the sound of Naruto smacking Ranmaru right across the face, both he and Hana once again shocked into silence by Naruto's behaviour

"I know why you want to die, but listen to my proposal first and then make an informed decision."

"A proposal? What kind of proposal?" Ranmaru muttered under his breathe.

"I have the ability to heal any injuries and any disabilities, in other words, I can give you your legs again. But I have a condition..." Naruto trailed off, for the third time now shocking both Hana and Ranmaru to no end.

"W-what is your condition Redfox-san?" Ranmaru asked, Naruto smirking inside his mask at the fact that Ranmaru was at least considering his offer.

"First let me tell you something about me. I too have faced scorn, fear, and hatred all of my life. Simply because I was and am different from other people."

"That's not true, Konoha don't have bloodline massacres and everybody loves bloodline clans in Konoha." Ranmaru argued vehemently.

"What you say is indeed true. However, the reason bloodline clans are hated in Kiri is because they are believed to be of demonic origin. Humans hate demons with a passion wherever you go Ranmaru. In your case it was a case of mistaken identity or lack of understanding, in my case, I really am a demon." Naruto explained much to his company's surprise and Kamiko-chan's protests.

"N-no way...!" Ranmaru trailed off with a shocked expression.

"It's true, inside of me lives the nine tailed demon fox that attacked Konoha 14 years ago. The Yondaime Hokage sealed it inside of baby in order to stop it and create a military weapon for the village. That baby was me." Naruto trailed off, taking a slight pause before continuing where he left off.

"You understand now Ranmaru? The fox killed alot of parents, children, siblings, lovers, and friends during it's rampage, that's why everyone in the village hates me and wants nothing more than for me to die. The teachers at the ninja academy also hated me and they did everything they could to sabotage my educational development, one of them even tricked me into stealing the forbidden scroll of seals so that he can have a legitimate reason to assassinate me. Fortunately I defeated him." Naruto explained.

"W-why are you telling me this?" Ranmaru asked with a confused expression.

"I want you to understand that you are not the only one that has had a painful childhood, that you can't give up on life just because of that. You have to fight and fight and fight, to fight on until the very end. You have to defy this reality with everything you have and forge your own path. You have to use your own strength to make life what you want it to be, to change your destiny or rather, to create your own destiny." Naruto said passionately.

"H-how do I do that? Please tell me Redfox-san!" Ranmaru pleaded desperately.

"It's your choice at the end of the day, but I have an idea. You see, there is too much pain and suffering in the world, too much hatred, too much fighting, and too much evil. I want to do something about that, to prevent future wars and to bring forth a long lasting, hopefully everlasting peace to the world. Ofcourse, I can't create a peaceful world if I can't even create a peaceful ninja village and country, and I can't do even that without attaining a position of power..."

"You want to become the Hokage?" Ranmaru exclaimed in surprise.

"You catch on fast Ranmaru, but yes, I do want to become the Hokage, it is my lifelong dream. But before I do that I have to completely tame and control the nine tailed demon fox's power so that I can earn some form of trust from the shinobi, and I have to get that civilain population to acknowledge me and see that I am not a demon. That's going to be hard, but I will not give up until I achieve that goal, which brings us to you Ranmaru..." Naruto trailed off with a grave undertone.

"What about me?" Ranmaru asked feafully.

"You are blessed with amazing talent. You don't even have shinobi training yet your chakra capacity and control is jonin level. You also have a doujutsu that seems to combine the prowess of Konoha's sharingan and byakugan's abilities. And more importantly, you are a kind hearted young man who knows true pain and suffering, hence the ability to empathise with others. You've also got a great amount of battle experience from being Raiga's eyes and ears for so long. Ranmaru, you have the potential to become the trump card of the bloodline rebellion faction of Kiri and become a future Mizukage." Naruto said convincingly.

"N-no way, you can't be serious." Ranmaru argued.

"I'm dead serious Ranmaru. You can receive swordsmen training from the bloodline faction and become a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen Organisation. You already have the lightning fangs now and you know better than anyone alive how to use them as you've fought side by side with Raiga for years now. Think about it, you have one of the most powerful bloodlines that I have ever seen, you have intellect and maturity beyond your age, you have jonin level chakra capacity and control, and you have the lightning Fangs and the Bloodline Faction to support you. If you defeat Yagura and help the Bloodline faction retake control of Kiri, then you will be able to end all the pain and suffering in Kiri. You will become a hero that will eventually become the Mizukage." Naruto explained, taking a small pause before carrying on where he left off.

"Suna has finally elected a new Kazekage. He is a demon host just like me. He was also hated in the past but now he has won everyone's repect and acknowledgement. He is also one of my closest friends. If the three of us become leaders of our respective villages, then Kiri, Konoha, and Suna will never have to go to war again. We'll make sure our kids become friends and we'll train them to become strong and carry on the family tradition. Kumo and Iwa will not touch either one of us because we'll outnumber them and they won't fight each other either for fear of either of us sweeping in to take spoils of war. Peace will be ensured for generations to come." Naruto carried on, taking another deep breathe of air before finishing off.

"It's not going to be easy, and there's no guarantee that things will go as smoothly as they sound, we might have to improvise and adjust our plans at times, but what do you say, Ranmaru? Even if we fail, it's better to die fighting than lying on your back isn't it?" Naruto asked, extending his right hand in what could and should be interpreted as a welcoming gesture.

"R-Redfox-san, you really think we can do something like that? You really think I can become Mizukage?" Ranmaru asked disbelievingly.

"Without a shadow doubt. I've seen you in action and I've heard your story. You have all the potential in the world, probably even more than I. All it takes is to believe in yourself and to be vigilant at all times. If you combine those two traits with your immense talent, then the world is your oister." Naruto said encouragingly, Ranmaru adopting a thoughtful expression before coming to a decision, resolve clearly written all over his eyes and facial expression.

"I'll do it! I'll join the Bloodline Faction and I'll do my best. Even I'm not the one to land the finishing blow, I'll make sure that Yagura goes down." Ranmaru reafirmed with a determined look in his eyes, one that disappeared very quickly however as he remembered something important.

"Ummm...Redfox-san...?" Ranmaru trailed off nervously.

"What is it, Ranmaru?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I don't know your name yet, and I can't see your face even with my doujutsu. Ummm...so...I was wondering if you could..."

"Oh! My apologies Ranmaru, I forgot about that. You see, my friends don't know that I have joined the ANBU, they believe that I have gone on a long term mission. Two of those friends are from the Hyuga clan, and therefore, just like you, are blessed with telescopic and x-ray vision. As a result, I invented a new seal specifically to counter the effects of x-ray vision and placed it on the inside of my mask. That's why you can't see my face." Naruto explained.

"That's amazing Redfox-san, to think that someone could create something like that with ninjutsu." Ranmaru said with childlike exuberance.

"Hehe! It's actually known as fuinjutsu, but sometimes there's a very thin line between the two. Anyway Ranmaru, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, pleased to meet your aquintance." Naruto replied as he removed his hood and mask with his left hand, his right hand extended towards the seated youngster, the two exchanging handshakes for the first time since they met.

"Wow you look so young Redf...I mean Naruto-san, I thought you were a bit older." Ranmaru exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey cut it out with the honorifics dattebayo, we're friends now, so you can just call me Naruto okay?" Naruto said with a kind smile.

"F-friends? I've never had a friend before..." Ranmaru trailed off with a forlorn expression, tears falling down his cheeks against his will as he came to that heart breaking realisation.

"Hey now, you're still only ten years old. It's not too late to make friends you know. I'm sure you'll make more friends in the Bloodline Rebellion Forces and everyone will admire and respect you when you become the Mizuk..." Naruto trailed off, his eyes widening slightly as he sensed ninteen strong chakras more roughly 150km away.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Hana asked curiously, Naruto getting startled just a little, almost forgetting that Hana and her ninken were even present, partly because he'd been so preocupied with Ranmaru and also because they had been so silent the whole time.

"There are nineteen people with strong chakra closing in on us at incredible speed. Three of them are particularly strong." Naruto explained much to the displeasure of the Inuzuka heiress.

"But I can't sense or see anything." Ranmaru argued.

"I see. I didn't realise you were also a sensor type. But it seems like your range with both your chakra sensing and your visual prowess is shorter than my sensing range. In any case you should be able to perceive their location soon enough with your sensing skills. For now, let me heal both of you and the ninken so that we can be better prepared to deal with the possible threat." Naruto said hastily.

"How are you going to completely heal us up in such a short space of time. We still wouldn't have enough time even if your sensing radar was 60 kilometres. I think it would be better if we ran straight for Fire Country and worry about healing injuries later." Hana argued logically.

"The people I sensed were 150km away when I detected them, my range is much longer when I put all of my focus on sensing, but 150 is my limit when I am not particularly focussed on that." Naruto explained so that Hana may understand that they had more time than she thought, and also so that Ranmaru may understand why he couldn't see the potential enemy as there was no way that his doujutsu could see that far.

"I find it hard to believe that anyone could sense that far with one hundred percent focus, nevermind passively as you suggest you did. But lets say you did, what difference does it make? There is still no way that even Godaime-sama could fix this kid's problem in that short span of time. We're not even sure this kid's problem can be fixed." Hana persisted.

"My my you're such an intelligent and headstrong woman Hana-san, however just like everyone else I've met before, you're severely underestimating me." Naruto retorted with a an expression that told Hana that he definitely knew something that she didn't.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked with narrowed eyes, wondering at the back of her mind why she was wasting so much precious time argueing over this whereas the obvious solution to their problem was the one she already suggested.

"First of all, how do you think these people located us from that far away, and how do you think I know that they are coming for us even from that distance?" Naruto asked rhetorically, causing Hana's eyes to widen slightly in surprise as that was something she had not really considered in her haste to get away. Perhaps it wasn't just her body alone that was worn out by her fight with Raiga after all.

"I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway." Hana retorted cheekily.

"The reason I was sent after you is because I am the most knowledgeabe and well versed shinobi in Konoha when it comes to Water Country's geographical locations, climatology, ninjutsu, infrastructure, strategies and tactics, and general way of life. That's why I happen to know that we are in fact in the territory of the bloodline faction, and also that the mist around this whole place is part of their secret barrier technique similar to the one we have surrounding Konoha. The faction's barrier squad detected our chakra as soon as we entered this mist and they probably took their time organising a particularly strong squad to deal with us because of the strength of our chakras." Naruto said, taking a short breathe before elaborating on his explanation.

"Why aren't we running away? Well, there's a particularly strong chakra in this squad that leads me to believe that the leader of the bloodline faction might be on his or her way here. I want to get to know the person who is going to be taking care of Ranmaru so that I can ascertain if it will be safe to leave Ranmaru in their hands or not. That's all there is to it. I understand if you don't want to stick around after everything you've gone through Hana-san, so I'll have my shadow clones escort you back to Konoha after I heal your injuries." Naruto said with a kind smile.

"Why are you willing to go so far for this child, I mean, you're an ANBU operative, you could be disgraced if you did something outside the scope of your mission and it backfired." Hana asked with a confused and concerned expression at the same time.

"I told you I wanted to become the Hokage right?"

"Yeah, so?" Hana asked.

"Well, I believe that I have to start thinking and acting like a Hokage now already if I ever want to become a good Hokage in the future. I have to secure alliances and friendships now already and I have to set things in motion so that I can reach the end result when I become Hokage. I just don't believe it is wise to wait that long to begin my journery. My goal is beyond the Hokage position and beyond Fire Country itself, I want to fix the world, or at least make it a better place and inspire generations to come, generations that will hopefully inherit that same spirit and determination. I can't waste such a good opportunity Hana-san." Naruto replied.

"I'm sorry." Hana said apologetically.

"Why?" Naruto asked, the tables turning on him as he was now the confused one.

"For doubting you. I thought you were being naive and unrealistic, but I understand now that you're optimistic and realistic at the same time rather than naive and unrealistic. You hope for the best but also plan for the worst. I wanted to ask you what you would do if it turns out the leader of the bloodline faction is not such a good person and won't allow us to leave this land alive, but you've already prepared for that possibility haven't you?" Hana asked rhetorically.

"Ofource. I'd never recklessly put yours or Ranmaru's life in danger. I have a contingency plan for our escape if it becomes neccessary." Naruto retorted with a warm smile.

"Okay, I believe in you. But ummm...really Naruto-kun, can you really heal us all in such a short time? And what about Ranmaru, I mean, can you fix his problem so quickly?" Hana asked skeptically.

"Yeah, look at this." Naruto said excitedly, opening his right hand to reveal a big red dot with black spirals inside of it on his palm.

"What's that Naruto-sa...I mean, Naruto nii-san?" Ranmaru asked curiously.

"This is a sealing technique of my own design. This seal continuously draws out my yang chakra and stores it. Yang chakra or yang release is associated with life force, healing, longetivity, stamina, and physical strength. The Uzumaki clan is known for it's yang release bloodline limit and this seal makes it easier for me to control my bloodline limit for various purposes. With this seal and my bloodline limit, I have attained healing, restoration, and re-creation abilities superior even to Tsunade of the sannin." Naruto said proudly.

"W-wow! You're really amazing Naruto nii-san. I wonder if I'll ever become just like you." Ranmaru thought out loud.

"You don't have to copy me Ranmaru. You'll never reach your full potential if you just copy someone else. Create your own legacy, your own jutsus, and your style, one that suits you and one that is true to who you are, and then find something important that you want to fight for. Only then can you become truly strong. That's what I believe at least." Naruto replied.

"Hmmmm...I think you're right. Thanks alot Naruto-nii, I promise not to forget your teachings, and I'll do my best always." Ranmaru declared passionately.

_"He seems so happy and carefree. When we first met he had the expression of a weary old man, a man who was ready to die. But now, all hope has been restored in his heart and his eyes have regained their youthful fire. You really are amazing Naruto-kun, to think that you could have such a profound impact on this boy in such a short span of time." _Haku said happily.

_"You did the same for me in that forest in Wave Country remember? I guess this makes me a good apprentice, and you an even better mentor." _Naruto retorted, the two best friends sharing a mental laugh together, brief as it was as Naruto went straight back to business, not willing to waste anymore time than he'd already wasted.

"Okay guys, I'm going to fix you all now and I'll fill you in on my plan..."

**End Chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any other series I might use for inspiration.

_**Securing The Future and Honoring a Promise**_

"Choujuro of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen , Ao of the Undertaker Unit, and Terumi Mei of the boil and lava release. I've heard great things about you three but I've never met any of you in person up until now. The honour is mine." Naruto said with a respectful bow of the head, totally confusing Ranmaru and even moreso, Inuzuka Hana.

To her, Naruto's current behaviour was totally un-alpha like. When he'd been sent to save her, when he'd managed to effortessly get Kamiko-chan, Kazuko-chan, and Kimiko-chan to respect and even submit to him, when he'd almost effortessly struck the fear of God into Raiga during the short but fruitful interogation, when he confidently declared his intention to run the village as Hokage, and even his taking lead of the situation and his Kyubi related status, all of these traits had quickly endeared the blonde Uzumaki to the Inuzuka heiress, after all, what sane Inuzuka woman wouldn't be attracted to a goal driven, strong, domineering and yet caring, loving, and understanding alpha.

With all of these thoughts going through her mind, perhaps it wasn't much of a surprise that Hana was left speechless and confused by the uncharacteristic submissiveness on display, although it was entirely possible that her reading of the situation was a tad bit off, after all, submissiveness is more of a mental state, temporal or permant, it isn't something that can be judged by actions alone because as far as Naruto was concerned, there was nothing submissive about his actions. He was merely giving credit and respect where it's due, and also setting the foundations for the possibly harsh negotiations that were without a doubt set to proceed shortly.

"And you're Konoha's Redfox, the mysterious ANBU and Hunternin operative who seems to have appeared out of nowhere and taken the shinobi world by storm. I never imagined that you were a jinchuuriki, though this does explain alot of things about you." Ao said with a neutral tone and expression, giving nothing away about his emotional state right then there, which was a good thing Mei thought greatfully. She is an extremely sexy and beautiful woman with a powerful aura, spotting a provocative blue outfit and long red hair styled in a herringbone pattern with a top knot and green eyes with one bang covering her right eye.

_'I hope there is a way for us to resolve this without the need for violence. Redfox is said to be arguably the most powerful ANBU operative in Konoha according to our sources, but we never knew that he was a jinchuuriki. We'll lose alot of men if he's even half as good at controlling his bijuu as Yagura is, and these are all my strongest men and women too.' _Mei thought with trepidition, fully aware of the fact that the bloodline faction would most likely have absolutely no chance of winning against Yagura without her, Choujuro, Ao, and the sixteen strong comrades that she had brought with her.

"I made sure to eliminate or capture all of my targets and I've gone to great lengths to keep a low profile, so forgive me for being surprised that you know about me Ao-san, but I suppose I shouldn't underestimate the former leader of Kiri's undetaker unit." Naruto retorted, slightly surprised by the fact that he apparently had a reputation to speak off outside Konoha's ANBU unit.

"Information and it's accuracy is very important for us shinobi, especially when you're in our shoes." Mei replied with an angelic and yet powerful and authorative voice, which made Naruto even more certain now that she indeed was the leader of the Bloodline Rebellion Forces.

"I suppose you're right. Tell you what, lets forget about that for now, you and I have some business to discuss, that is ofcourse, if I'm correct in assuming that you are the leader of the bloodline faction of Kiri's civil war?" Naruto said with a questioning undertone.

"There's nothing to discuss. You're tresspassing on our territory and you will leave Water Country immediately if you know what's good for you. That's all there is to it, nothing more and nothing less." Mei ordered without even a blink of an eye, resolved to fight Redfox and his entourage to the death if neccessary, after all, she'd come here prepared to face a jinchuuriki when their barrier squad had detected the Konoha ANBU's chakra, although this was a difficult jinchuuriki to the one that she'd come prepared to do battle against, the barrier squad seemingly confusing Naruto's chakra with Yagura's, though in fairness they did warn her that there was some discrepancies regarding what their barrier was detecting.

"Let me first kindly but respectfully correct you Terumi-san, this is not your territory." Naruto said matter of factly, much to everyone's confusion and anger too on the part of Terumi Mei.

"Excuse me?" Mei inquired with a deadly tone.

"Water Country is the Water Daimyo and Mizukage's territory, and it belongs to their people. However, you aren't their people now are you? No, you guys are by international and local law, a terrorist organisation with an S class criminal ranking, not to mention that both the daimyo and the mizukage expressly and in writting revoked all of your rights and obligations to this land. You don't own anything inside Water Country, you're just as much a tresspasser as I and my comrades are right now." Naruto declared with devastating effect.

"You better watch your words Mr. Redfox, don't think for one second that your bijuu will protect you from my wrath. Don't think for one second...that you get to insult our intergrity and dignity and then get to walk away with your head on your shoulders." Mei said ferociously, though if Naruto was scared or intimidated, he certainly did well not to show any signs of it, not that it was easy to tell with that menacing mask covering his entire face.

"Stop bluffing Terumi-san. I'm Konoha's ultimate military weapon and Hana-san over here is the heiress of the Inuzuka clan. What makes you think that Konoha won't take action against you if anything happens to us?" Naruto asked rhetorically, causing Mei to grit her teeth in anger and frustration.

"We have survived everything that has been thrown against us, we've been through hell and back and we are still alive and intact, stronger than ever. We do not fear anything under the sun and the moon." Terumi Mei declared with conviction.

"You're a smooth talker, and a passionate woman. I can respect that, but lets be honest here Terumi-san, you already have your hands full with Yagura, there is no way that you could survive an onslaught from both Kiri and Konoha. You have no leverage or higher position here." Redfox declared.

"You're right, I have no leverage against you, except for the lives of your comrades." Mei countered fiercely.

"But I too have the lives of your comrades within my grasp. You, Choujuro and Ao-san need no introduction, but based on their chakra levels and the potency of said chakra, I'm quite confident that the other sixteen of your comrades are the strongest of your army after you three. How many do you think the kyubi jinchuuriki can kill before he is taken down? And how much of a blow will that be to your military strength?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

_'So he's also a sensor type, I guess Ao was right after all, not that I really doubted him.' _Mei confirmed to herself. Ao had told her that the jinchuuriki in the enemy ranks was also a sensor type, that was because sensor's couldn't hide their sensor abilities from each other as long as they were moulding chakra, thus a sensor can immediately tell when another sensor type has detected his or her position.

"This isn't going anywhere. Was this your grand plan Redfox? You're just going to trade insults and threats with her until everyone dies of boredom and starvation? Doesn't seem like such a genius plan to me." Hana said mockingly, causing Naruto to strain himself just to hold back a chuckle at Hana's brash, straight to the point, and blunt honest attitude, a quality that he found stangely endearing.

"That wasn't my plan. I just want us to negotiate on equal terms. It will be easier for her to take advantage of my generosity if she stops trying to strangehold me." Naruto replied for all to hear, including their potential enemy, sixteen of which were still hiding behind the mist despite the fact that Naruto had already revealed his knowledge of their existence and whereabouts.

_'Remember Naruto-kun, a hidden mist user can sacrifice the chakra sensing function of the mist in exchange for a signature disruption function. You won't be able to determine their location by chakra alone anymore because they will almost certainly activate this aspect of the jutsu before they attack now that they know for sure that you're a sensor.' _Haku said with a warning undertone.

_'I know. But they'll have to rely on other means to track us if they do that, they'll problably use scent or sound, most likely sound. Ranmaru has his doujutsu to aid him, his sight won't be disrupted by the mist, Hana has scent sensing and I have my air resistance sensing. We'll be just fine.' _Naruto replied confidently, vowing to Haku that he wouldn't leave anything to chance, shortly after broken from his thoughts by the beautiful godess Terumi Mei.

"Alright, I'll bite Redfox-kun, what is it that you want to negotiate about so badly?" Mei asked, her curiousity finally getting the better of her.

"I want you to surrender Ao-san's byakugan over to me..."

"Not gonna happen." Mei cut in smoothly, not even waiting to hear the rest of the blonde Uzumaki's story as she already knew the answer to his proposal.

"You haven't even heard my offer."

"Yes I didn't. But I also know that this is our only byakugan and it is therefore our most precious and important asset. We won't trade it for anything." Mei declared with finality.

"Even for a doujutsu with powers reminiscent of both the sharingan and byakugan?" Naruto asked with a knowing smirk, though no one could see it under his mask.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Mei asked incredulously.

"Show them, Ranmaru." Naruto ordered, the young and newly uncrippled 10 year old boy immediately activating his doujutsu, his eyes glowing a menacing red as a result.

"This is Ranmaru's doujutsu, the fuingan." Naruto explained.

"N-no way!" Ao exclaimed in surprise.

"What is it Ao? Do you know something about this boy's eyes?" Mei asked hastily.

"Not much, but I do know that there once was a clan in Kiri that had a legendary doujutsu, a doujutsu that was Kiri's answer to Konoha's sharingan and byakugan in the past. The clan was hunted down and eliminated for it's doujutsu, however, the clan had a secret jutsu that incinerated the eyes upon death, it was a jutsu placed on each newborn child at birth in order to prevent the enemy from harnessing the eyes for themselves. The clan was hunted down to extinction long before even I was born. I never thought that...that someone from that clan had survived." Ao explained much to both Mei and Choujuro's surprise, even his own surprise really as he honestly never expected to ever get the priviledge to witness these eyes in person.

"Well I must admit that I had no idea that Ranmaru's clan had such a bloody history, but all the better because he will reform the clan and make it an even greater force of nature. I initially intended to take Ranmaru back to Konoha with me, but maybe he could be of more use to you than I wouldn't you say Terumi-san? Ofcourse, I want you to be his mentor and I would like Choujuro-san to train him as well..."

"Wait just a minute. I never said that we had a deal, and more importantly, what makes you think you could make those demands even if we were to make a deal with you?" Mei retorted.

"Those were not demands but requests. You see this headless corpse behind me?" Naruto asked.

"Yes and?" Mei inquired with a confused expression, unable to understand what said corpse had anything to do with what they were currently discussing.

"That is Kurosuki Raiga's body, and these are the lightning fangs that we confiscated from him." Naruto said, crouching down on one knee and spreading out the scroll that contained the swords before unsealing the swords for Terumi Mei and her entourage to see.

"Ao?" Mei ordered authoratively, Ao immediately recognising the command for what it was, that his boss wanted him to verify the legitimacy of the sword using the power of the byakugan in his left eye socket.

"Hai, they're the real deal. Those are the lightning fangs." Ao replied.

"You're sure?" Mei asked again.

"One hundred percent Terumi-sama." Ao replied respectfully.

"I see..." Mei trailed off thoughtfully.

"Ranmaru is ten years old but the strength, reserve size, and control that he has over his chakra is jonin level. His doujutsu affords him x-ray vision, telescopic vision, three sixtee degree vision, chakra sensing, genjutsu casting and disection, chakra perception and disection, and even temporal doujutsu and sensory disruption." Naruto said in order to sway Mei to his point of view as he noticed that she had just adopted a stance that showed that she was in deep thought.

"He was formerly Raiga's partner, Raiga hid Ranmaru's small body in a bag that he carried on his back and never went anywhere without him. Ranmaru was Raiga's eyes and ears and therefore knows everything there is to know about the lightnining fangs and Raiga's sword style. He is without a shadow of doubt the best candidate to wield the dual swords as he has both the talent and battle experience with the swords." Naruto carried on.

"..."

"If you hand over the byakugan in exhange for these two gifts, you will most definitely be in a better position than you are now. You only have one byakugan that cannot be passed on, but now you will have instead two fuingan that will be passed on and multiplied through Ranmaru's descendants. You will also have retrieved a powerful asset in the lightning fangs and a skilled wielder for said weapon. Last but not least, I will give you two other gifts after the trade has taken place. One is a gift of knowledge and one is another military asset that will help you in your war against Yagura. Having heard all of that Terumi-san, can you still say that you won't surrender the byakugan to me?" Naruto pressed on, fairly confident now that it was only a matter of time before she gave in to him, after all, Mei was in a greatly unfavorable situation against the might of Kiri, she could use any bit of help that she could get, and both Naruto and Mei knew that very well.

"I will accept your terms only if you tell me what the price is for your unhealthy generosity." Mei declared, causing Redfox to chuckle at the phrase she used to describe his behaviour, not that he could blame her for being suspiscious of him.

"Ranmaru's dream is to become the Mizukage. I'm aware that you will probably take the seat when you take control of Kirigakure, but at some point in the future you will have to name a successor..."

"I don't like where this is going..." Mei trailed off with a fierce tone.

"Rest assured Terumi-dono, I only request that you give Ranmaru a fair chance just like everyone else. I'm not saying you are obligated to choose him and I'm not saying you will make an enemy of me if you don't, all I ask for is fairness." Naruto said re-assuringly.

"Why do you care so much what happens to the boy?" Ao asked suspisciously.

"Ranmaru's and I are good friends now, what kind of friend woud I be if I didn't look out for him?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Is that really all there is to it? You don't have any other demands..."

"I'm not making any de..."

"Yes yes, requests...are there any more requests, Redfox-san?" Mei bit out testily.

"As a matter of fact..." Naruto trailed off, causing Mei to have to resist the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation.

"What is it now?" Mei demanded impatiently.

"I would like to negotiate an alliance treaty with you when I become Hokage and you are the Mizukage. The request is simple, that you only hear me out and give my offer fair consideration. The offer will be that of a two part alliance treaty, a treaty with Kiri as a whole, and a treaty with the bloodline faction to ensure that Konoha will be able to legally aid the bloodline faction should another bloodline genocide take place in the future." Naruto explained much to the factions' surprise, Mei, Choujuro, Ao, and even the other sixteen elite all unable to understand what this young man's true motives were.

"I can see that everything I say and do is being treated with extreme caution and more accurately, extreme distrust and suspission. So I'll tell you why a Konoha ANBU operative is so determined to help your cause."

"Please do..." Mei bit out hastily, really needing a clear and concise explanation for something that is by all intents and purposes, too good to be true and completely illogical, her inability to accurately read her perceived nemesis thereby frustrating her to no end as this was a character trait and ability she took pride on as leader of the bloodline faction of Kiri's civil war.

On the other hand, having received permission to speak, Naruto went on a long speech as he explained his motivations, all the way back to his first meeting with Zabuza and his apprentice and up to the present time and moment. It wasn't that he enjoyed talking so much, in fact, he really didn't enjoy having to talk this much, hence why he took the occupation of a lone hunternin, however, he did realise the importance of transparency in a situation like this. He would never earn Terumi Mei's full confidence, or even partial trust thereto if he wasn't completely, or at least as honest as he could be. If she understood who he was, where he came from, and where he was going, if she understood that he was doing this partly to honour Zabuza and Haku's memory, understood what kind of impact they had on his life, why he could sympathise with the faction's plight because of his own history, and finally, why he and Ranmaru were able to become such close friends in such a short time, then it would be much easier for her to accept his generosity.

"I t-thought t-that Uchiha Sasuke was the one who d-defeated Zabuza-san." Choujuro stuttered, speaking for the first time since he arrived Naruto realised, the blonde Uzumaki also surprised by the fact that not only did it seem like he was only interested in Zabuza out of everything that was said, but also because, or rather, especially because he thought Sasuke defeated Zabuza, something that Naruto found to be completely peposterous.

"I don't know where you got your information from Choujuro-san, but Kakashi-sensei was the one who defeated Zabuza, and I was the one who defeated Haku, though I couldn't have done it without Sasuke's help I have to admit that much at least." Naruto replied.

"I...I see. Thank you very much, Redfox-san." Choujuro replied meekly, Naruto wondering how on earth such a timid guy could be a member of the seven ninja swordsmen, but then again, as he recalled, Hinata was also someone with a similar personality yet she had proven herself to be a brave and capable kunoichi when it really mattered, so maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all.

"No problem. Anyway, Terumi-san, I've told you everything. Now it's your turn, have you come to a decision yet?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Yes I have. I will accept your offer and the terms and conditions that come with it, but first you have to tell me something, having been part of the team that defeated Zabuza, you should have a good idea of the whereabouts of the Kubikibocho. Am I wrong?" Mei asked rhetorically.

"Indeed. Remember that I said I had two other gifts apart from Ranmaru and the lightning fangs, the Kubikiribocho is one of those gifts." Naruto explained.

"Okay that settles it , we will now make the trade. I don't need to hear anymore. You understand right, Ao?" Mei said with a strange combination of sympathy, compassion, and authority, subtly ordering Ao to disable the barrier protecting his byakugan so that she can literally rip it out of it's socket with her bare hands, though she would try to be as gentle as she could be about it.

"Hai Terumi-sama!" Ao saluted respectfully.

"Do you have any objections regarding my decision?" Mei asked, not that she was giving him a choice anyway.

"I have neither objections nor regrets. The benefits of this agreement by far outweigh the loss of my byakugan." Ao replied.

"Very well..." Mei replied as she prepared herself to strike as soon as Ao finished the hand seals that would deactivate the barrier. She didn't want him to know when she would strike, because if he did, there was a chance that he might flinch away and cause major damage to himself. She also didn't want to give him a chance to think about it too much, nor did she especially want to give herself a chance to think about it too much, in case either one of them changed their minds.

_'It would be better to allow a medical expert to perform a proper operation, but that would take too long. Even if we didn't change our minds, there's a chance Redfox could change his mind if he realises just what a big loss he'd be making from this transaction.' _Mei reasoned, trying to justify her actions to herself and therefore soothe her own conscience about what she was about to do to her comrade.

**0000000000000**

"The trade has been made successfully, you have your byakugan, and we have Ranmaru-kun and the lightning fangs. I trust that you will not go back on your word and attempt to get either one of them back, Redfox-san." Ao said, now spotting heavy bandaging around his left eye.

"I will not go back on my word, but you too must not go back on yours. Ranmaru is to become Terumi-dono and Choujuro-san's apprentice, and he is to become the wielder of the..."

"Yes yes we get it Redfox-san, you do not need to keep repeating yourself. We will hold our end of the bargain and I will await the day that you reveal your face to me." Mei cut in smoothly.

"The day I reveal my face to you?" Naruto asked with a confused frown, though once again it has to be said that no one could see it behind his mask.

"Surely you don't intend to wear that mask even when you become Hokage do you? That is, if you actually can become the Hokage." Mei replied tauntingly.

"No I will remove the mask ofcourse. Becoming Hokage is my calling, rest assured that I will become the Hokage, just as I am confident that you will become the Mizukage, and so will Ranmaru after you." Naruto retorted in turn.

"You have alot of faith in us don't you?" Mei said with a small smile, a smile that Naruto was seeing for the first time on her beautiful face since she arrived, the blonde Uzumaki asking himself why a person with such a beautiful smile didn't smile more often.

"You should smile more often Terumi-dono, it makes you look even more beautiful than you already are." Redfox replied.

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm afraid I don't have a fetish for masked men. Come back when you're just a little older and you no longer feel insecure about your appearance." Mei replied, causing Naruto to sweatdrop inside his mask, mainly because he had no idea whether she was joking or not, because she kind of seemed serious judging by her tone of voice and facial expression.

"Ummm...yeah, I'll think about it."Naruto replied, concluding that the best response was one that matched her own tone and demeanor so as not to offend her, also because he didn't want to tarnish his image by saying something stupid.

"Anyway, give me my two other gifts that you promised me and get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you again until you visit my office for the alliance treaty negotiations." Mei demanded authoratively, the blonde Uzumaki once again unrolling a scroll on the ground and releasing another item from the scroll.

"Is that...the kubikiribocho?" Choujuro asked in both astonishment and excitement, having never actually seen the blade in person as Zabuza defected long before Choujuro joined the ninja ranks.

"Yes it is." Naruto replied.

"Initially, we left this sword in Wave Country and used it as a grave marker for Zabuza and Haku. However, a mere bandit found it and started going around claiming that he had defeated Zabuza, displaying the blade as proof of his victory. When I heard news of this, I immediately went back to Wave Country and re-claimed the sword. The bandit is dead now, I found him chasing down a 14 year old girl and attempting to rape her, so I mutilated him and took the sword for safe keeping. Nobody outside of this forest knows that I had this sword, I hope it stays that way." Naruto explained as he tossed the executioner's blade towards the bespectacled swordsmen, subtly ordering that there should be no mentioning of what he had just told them.

The ease with which Choujuro caught and held the kubikiribocho didn't come as much of a surprise to Naruto, not only because Choujuro wielded a ridiculously huge sword himself, but by mere virtue of the fact that he was a member of the seven ninja swordmen and the fact that the guy had quite a strong chakra for someone of his age. Naruto was around the same age as Choujuro too, but he thought of himself as an exception because of his jinchuuriki status and Uzumaki heritage. These were the thoughts going through the blonde jinchuuriki's mind as Mei's angelic voice once again broke him from his musings.

"You're too kind Redfox-san. Giving away so much power to the enemy, this is not how a shinobi should behave. Your compassion and trust in us could be your downfall in the future. You do realise that don't you?" Mei asked, showing concern for the blonde Uzumaki, perhaps her true nature easily able to come to the fore now that the trade was practically completed, after all, she was already better off than she was before even if Redfox rescinded his decision to give unto them the fourth and final gift that he promised them.

"I know that my behaviour is unbefitting of a shinobi, but the truth is, I'm not aiming to be the best shinobi in my generation, or the best shinobi ever for that matter. I'm aiming for something higher, something beyond a shinobi." Naruto retorted.

"And what prey tell is beyond a shinobi?" Mei asked condescendingly.

"I don't know, but I'll tell you all about it when I find out." Naruto replied with a bit of mirth, causing Mei's face to split up into another one of those angelic smiles of hers.

"You're really something else you know that Redfox-san. I bet you'd make a wonderful husband, though I guess it's too early to tell with certainty, especially with that mask in my way." Mei said not so subtly, acting in a manner that was way too forward for Hana's tastes, though she herself failed to understand why that bothered her so much.

"Stop flirting with the enemy and lets get out of here. Isn't my safe return supposed to be your top priorety?" Hana spat out with disgust, not liking one bit of what was taking place in front of her at all.

"Okay, we'll leave anytime now Hana-san. There's just one more thing okay?" Naruto replied hastily.

"Tche! Whatever, just hurry up." Hana said frostily.

_"I wonder why she's so cross with me. Do you have any idea Haku?" _Naruto asked curiously.

_"I have a few ideas, but I'll let you figure this one out on your own." _Haku replied with a tone that was dripping with amusment, much to Naruto's ire, as he knew very well that further inquiry was pointless when Haku was acting like this. He'd just have to figure this one out himself, though he'd have to save that for later, Mei's hypnotic voice once again breaking him out of his musings.

"So Redfox-san...the other gift you promised to me. I believe you have some important information for me no?" Mei asked with more than a little curiosity, in fact practically demanding the information with almost a sense of entitlement.

"I did make that promise didn't I..." Naruto trailed of thoughtfully.

"Yes you did, and now it's time for you to deliver." Mei said forcefully.

"Okay then. First allow me to explain to you the nature of the information I'm about to pass on to you. Everything I'm about to tell you is merely theoretical and speculative, but if it works, it has the potential to transform you as a shinobi and take you to a level where you can match a jinchuuriki like Yagura pound for pound in all of his jinchuuriki states with the exception of a full bijuu transformation. If you can't defeat him before he makes the full transformation, then I'm afraid I don't have any further advise for you." Naruto explained clearly and concisely, leaving everyone's eyes wide in surprise, more especially those of Inuzuka Hana, who couldn't help but seriously question where Redfox, or rather, Naruto's loyalties truly lie right now.

However, even she knew better than to cause a scene right now, because if Redfox truly intended to betray Konoha for Kiri, then Terumi Mei and her henchmen would likely eliminate her if they thought that she might compromise one of their spies. However, perhaps if Hana wasn't so mentally and emotionally exhausted from the Raiga ordeal, she might have realised that Terumi Mei and her henchmen would more likely allow her to live then kill her if they thought that she would expose Redfox. That is because Redfox would have no choice but to defect in such a scenario and who else would he run to if such a thing happened other than the people that he seemed to care for so much, so much so that he was willing to go to such great extremes to ensure their victory against Yagura, seemingly at the expense of even his own credibility as a loyal Konoha shinobi.

"After everything you've already done for us, I'd have to be a fool not to listen to what you have to say at the very least, even if it is only theoretical or speculative. But before you carry on, would you please explain to us what you mean when you say _jinchuuriki states_?" Mei asked, causing Naruto's eyes to widen suddenly inside his mask.

"You...you guys have yet to fight Yagura or even see him in action have you?" Naruto asked in surprise, Mei, Ao, and Choujuro all surprised that Naruto was able to come to such an accurate conclusion.

To say Mei was embarassed would amount to an incredible understatement, but she knew better than anyone that honesty was the best policy in this situation. You simply don't lie to a doctor about your sickness if you truly want treatment for your ailment. The only way to be cured is to tell the doctor the absolute and complete truth, do otherwise at your own peril. That was her policy, and she firmly believed in it and would stick to it even when she was in such a vulnerable position, or rather, especially because she was in such a vulnerable position.

"You're right. We haven't fought Yagura nor have we seen Yagura in action. He picks and chooses his battles carefully. He never appears on a battlefield with me, Choujuro, and/or Ao in it. I only venture to guess, but to me, it seems like his intention is to force us, the ring leaders, to watch all of our comrades die until we are the very last one alive. And then finally finish us off. He is saving us for last." Mei explained.

"But what about survivors? Weren't they able to give you any information?" Naruto inquired.

"No, there were never any survivors in any battle that Yagura took part in." Mei replied.

"Wow. Yagura really is one hell of a monster tactician huh, but really I'm more impressed by you." Naruto replied.

"Me?" Mei asked with a confused frown.

"Yes you silly. I'm not much of a psychologist, but I'm one hundred percent convinced that you have an incredibly strong mental fortitude to have such a confident and stable aura and flow of chakra despite what you must be going through in your life right now. You're an incredible leader Terumi-san. I have no doubts now about choosing you as Ranmaru's mentor." Naruto replied sincerely, though Choujuro seemed to take offense to those words, said man all of a sudden glaring daggers at the masked Uzumaki, causing Naruto to wonder what he could have possibly done or said to offend the young swordsman.

"Thank you Redfox-san, but your charms unfortunately won't work on me today. As I said earlier, suspiscious masked men aren't exactly my cup of tea, after all, I'm looking for a husband, not a wild fling or one night stand." Mei replied flirtatiously, causing Choujuro to visibly relax, the intense aura around him disappearing all of a sudden, causing Naruto to wonder if he hadn't imagined it to begin with.

"Hn, you're one hell of a woman Terumi-san, but you're right, that's not why we're here." Naruto replied.

"Yes, we're here because you have some information for me, don't make me repeat myself again Redfox-kun, out with it." Mei urged on, this time both Hana and Choujuro narrowing their eyes at the 'kun' suffix and not to mention the more than considerable change in attitude and tone between the two individuals.

"Okay okay. Here goes. First of all,do you realise that you have the highest chakra vibration frequency out of everyone that travelled with you today?" Naruto asked cryptically.

"I mean no offense in anyway whatsoever, but isn't that a rather obvious statement Naruto-san, after all, Terumi-sama is the strongest member of the faction. The molecules of a strong person's chakra tend to vibrate at a higher frequency than normal." Ao replied.

"Higher vibration frequencies doesn't always mean that the opponent is strong though, it could be that the opponent is just fast, or just physically strong, or has strong ninjutsu but is physically weak and slow." Naruto retorted.

"I'm well aware of that, but what does that have to do with anything?" Ao retorted.

"He means to say that I am the one whose high chakra vibration frequency denotes only to the strength of my ninjutsu and not my physical brawn and speed." Mei stated matter of factly.

"I wasn't entirely sure of that, but now that you've confirmed it, I'm even more convinced that you need my information." Naruto declared confidently.

"Okay, so let me get this straight, to sensor type shinobi, chakra vibration denotes to a person's skill with their chakra. A high chakra vibration could mean that the person has either a high level of skill in ninjutsu, or has a high level of strength or speed. But it can't be that straight forward now can it? What if a person has two of these? Better yet, what if a person has all three in equal abundance?" Terumi Mei asked curiously.

"That requires an insane amount of chakra. Chakra Vibration is only a yardstick to measure a person's skill with chakra, in other words, the speed with which the person's chakra flows. To simplify it further, you could say that chakra vibration is a simply a measure of person's chakra control. Now one can use chakra control to augment his body so as to improve his speed, explosive strength, or ninjutsu, but very few are equally good in all three. Some prefer taijutsu and therefore focus on augmenting their speed and strength, and some like ninjutsu and hence focus on that. Naturall talent also plays a part, if you have a natural talent for taijutsu, you'll most likely find it alot easier to enhance either your speed, strength, or on rare occasions, both with you chakra control." Naruto explained patiently.

"But this is something we already know isn't it? You may have used big words and made it sound more complicated than it is, but everyone knows what you just told us. How does this help me?" Mei asked irritably.

"You use your high chakra reserves and control to augment your ninjutsu right?"

"Yes and...?" Mei drawled out with a bored tone and expression.

"Well, have you considered using your ninjutsu in turn to augment your speed and strength? In other words, using your talent for ninjutsu to supplement and compliment your taijutsu." Naruto suggested.

"You mean like the Raikage's nin-taijutsu? Don't you think Terumi-sama would have done that already if there was a way to do it with her elemental affinities?" Ao retorted, really starting to get irritated now as he felt that both their intellect and knowledge was being underestimated.

"I'm not sure I follow Ao-san, what are you insinuating exactly?" Redfox asked curiously.

"The raikage uses his raiton affinity to increase the speed of his neural synapses to a level beyond human comprehension, that's how he gains such a vast increase in speed. In what manner can Terumi-sama's affinities do the same for her?" Ao asked almost condescendingly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Terumi-dono not immune to her own lava and boil release? Because if you weren't, wouldn't the lava burn a hole through your stomach and throat when you spit it out? Wouldn't your boil or steam release melt your body when you release it from your body?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Yes but, what does that have to do with anything? What do you have in mind?" Mei asked curiously.

"If you're immune to boil and lava release, does that not mean that your body can handle extreme levels of heat? And if that's the case, then does that not in turn mean that you can use boil and/or lava release to increase the temperature of your body and by extention, the temperature of your chakra? Better yet, could you not just directly increase the temperature of your chakra?" Naruto asked in quick succession.

"Increase the temperature of her chakra? For what good reason would she..." Ao trailed off, Mei cutting him off mid-sentence as she came to a sudden realisation.

"Extreme levels of heat cause molecules to vibrate at a higher frequency Ao. Do you get it now? If I were to accomplish what Redfox-kun is suggesting, I could exponentially increase the vibration frequencies of my chakra and therefore potentially gain an exponential increase in speed and strength. Actually, now that I think about it, no one else that I know of would be able to survive such a jutsu but me." Mei said excitedly, causing both Choujuro and Ao's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation.

"Exactly! It's worth a shot don't you think? If you get this right, I can almost guarentee that you will be able to match Yagura pound for pound up to version two jinchuuriki state." Naruto said almost excitedly.

"Redfox-kun..." Mei trailed off, a dark aura surrounding her finger and a black shadow cast over her yes, causing a feeling of fear and trepidition to rush all over Naruto's body.

"Whaa...huh...!" Naruto trailed off in surprise, Terumi Mei all of a sudden jumping him and snaking him into a tight embrace before he could even react, squeezing so tight that he almost suspected that she was maybe trying to suffocate him to death.

"Mei-san, what are you..."

"Oh so we're on first name basis now are we?" Mei asked teasingly.

"Hey don't joke around here, that was dangerous, I could have killed you." Naruto said with a serious tone.

"But you didn't did you? Could be a big mistake on your part though, because I could literally melt you in the blink of an eye in this position." Mei whispered into Naruto's ear, her hot breath against his ear causing a shiver to run up and down his spine.

"Then you should probably be made aware that I could literally slice you into a million microscopic pieces of flesh from this position...in an instant." Naruto retorted.

"A wind style user huh? How interesting, it's no wonder you weren't too reserved about handing over the lightning fangs, after all, wind is indeed strong against lightning." Mei replied, causing Naruto to tense slightly, just now realising that he had revealed something important about himself that he didn't want to reveal, although he was quick to get over it, after all, it wasn't going to be possible for him to hide basic facts like that for too long anyway, otherwise no one would have known about Hashirama's mokuton or the Yellow Flash's Flying Raijin if it were possible to hide such things indefinitely.

"Ahem, anyway, I've already wasted too much time with you, I should probably re-focus my attentions on the completion of my mission." Naruto said.

"So you're leaving already...?" Mei asked with a surprising tenderness and even, dare he say, vulnerability, Mei, as far as Naruto could tell, clearly unhappy about them going their seperate ways so soon.

"You seemed so eager to get rid of me earlier, even saying that you didn't want to see me until I became Hokage. What could have changed in such a short time?" Naruto asked curiously, he and Mei still holding each other in each other's arms, Naruto surprised at how natural this felt considering that they were technically still enemies.

"Oh I don't know Redfox-kun, maybe I don't know how to express my gratitude, or maybe I just want to get to know our saviour a little more...intimately." Mei said with a sultry tone.

"As a healthy member of the male species, believe me when I say that I would like nothing more than to get ummm...close to you, but I've been trained vigorously to deal with seduction techniques. Not even a woman of your godess like beauty could seduce me unless I want to be seduced. I might take you if neither of us are taken by the time we become official allies though." Naruto replied

"Hey wait a minute, I thought you didn't have a fetish for masked men?" Naruto asked, causing Mei to giggle at the expression she imagined was on the blonde Uzumaki's face right now.

"Well you know sometimes I say alot of things I don't mean Redfox-kun, though I did in fact mean that one. Don't take everything so seriously though, I was just teasing. Though now that you've mentioned it, I will consider your offer when we meet again. If I like what I see, then who knows..." Mei trailed off as she broke her embrace with the blonde Uzumaki, an accomplished smirk plastered onto her facial features.

"Ummm...okay." Naruto replied with a confused tone, unable to help but feel like he had just lost a battle somehow.

_"That's because you did. You've just been had badly." _Haku said inside Naruto's mind.

_"The hell is that supposed to mean?" _Naruto asked defensively, causing Haku to laugh out loud at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.

_"Can't you see, she made a move on you but when she untangled herself from you, she'd turned the situation around and got you to make a move on her. Now it looks like you're the one that wants to hit it off with her if the situation is right in the future." _Haku explained.

_"What the hell are you talking about? I don't really get it." _Naruto retorted with a mental frown, causing Haku to sigh in exasperation.

_"You're not even half as bad as you were about a year ago, but you still have a long way to go when it comes to women. I guess this just doesn't come as easy as ninjutsu does to you. Anyway it doesn't matter, I'll explain everyhing properly when we get home. Right now you should probably focus on your mission. We're done here, and ummm...Naruto..." _Haku trailed off with a nostalgic expression.

_"What is it bro?" _Naruto asked curiously.

_"Thank you." _

_"For what?" _Naruto asked with a confused expression, well, as far as mental expressions go anyway.

_"For keeping your promise to help end the bloodline purges in Kiri, and for honouring mine and Zabuza-sama's memory." _Haku replied ernestly.

_"Oh...well ummm, I'm sure you would have done the same for me right?" _Naruto retorted with a mental smile and thumbs up.

_"Yeah...that goes without saying." _Haku replied with a serene smile.

"Isn't it about time we leave now? I'm not as comfortable as you seem to be around our enemies." Hana said feistily, breaking Naruto out of his short trance in the process.

"Yes, it is just about time we get going." Naruto said as he shunshined behind Hana, pulling her into a tight embrace from behind, almost as if holding on to a lover.

"W-what the hell are you doing!" Hana stuttered, a flustered expression adorning her facial features. Naruto however did not respond immediately, instead the blonde Uzumaki creating three more shadow clones, each shadow clone picking up and carrying one of the ninken in their arms.

"We're going to use the skies to make our way. It will be easier to pass the border without detection if we use this method and it will also be quicker." Naruto explained calmly.

"Y-you can't be serious? You mean to tell me that you can fl..." Hana trailed off in shock, a surge of chakra surrounding the duo as they levitated towards the sky, not only Hana but everyone, including the ninken, unable to believe what they were seeing and experiencing respectively.

_'S-sugoi! What is this aura that's surrounding us? Is it Naruto-kun's wind style or something else?" _Hana pondered with an astonished but also impressed expression.

"This is my wind style: air subjucation technique, and as you can see, it is an ability that enables me to conquer the skies. We'll arrive in Konoha in no time at all if we travel in this manner." Naruto explained.

"I...I see..." Hana trailed off, still completely stunned by the sudden turn of events and not to mention flustered the close and borderline intimate contact that she and Naruto were making at that moment, even though it was unintentional.

_'Why the hell do I feel like this, like I could easily submit to him! He's just a kid for kami-sama's sake, and he's Kiba's friend too!' _Hana thought irritably.

"A shinobi that can fly, this is unbelievable!" Ao thought out loud.

"Indeed. The only other shinobi I know of that can pull something like that off is the Sandaime Tsuchikage Ohnoki." Mei retorted, also spotting an awed expression as was everyone of he comrades.

"Until we meet again Mei-san, Ranmaru..." Naruto trailed off with a genuine smile, not that it could be seen behind the fox mask he was spotting.

"Goodbye, Redfox nii-san! I hope to see you again soon and I promise to make you proud!" Ranmaru exclaimed elatedly, waving his arms excitedly at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Until we meet again." Mei replied, also waving goodbye at the blonde Uzumaki.

Having said his goodbyes, Naruto decided it was time for them to depart, the fox masked hunternin and his clones literally jetting off in the direction of Konoha at such a speed that a mini whirlwind formed in their wake, causing Mei and the others to cover their eyes with their arms to protect themselves from the wind.

"Sugoi! Naruto nii-san is such a powerful and amazing shinobi, I'm going to become just like him. When does my training start Terumi-sama, Choujuro-sensei?" Ranmaru asked enthusiatically.

"As soon as we're done interogating you." Mei replied with a sinister smirk.

"W-what...?" A shocked Ranmaru stuttered, his mind immediately taking back to the brutal interogation that Naruto had put Raiga through, unable to quite imagine himself going through the same thing.

"Oh come on now Ranmaru-chan don't look at me like that, I don't want to do this to you, I really don't. But! I carry the weight of thousands of lives on my shoulders, I can't afford to slack off, I have to make sure that yours and Redfox's intentions are pure. You understand right?" Mei asked with a smile and tone that was way too friendly given the dangerous aura that was coming from her, Ranmaru swallowing a huge gulp as he mentally cursed Naruto for leaving him at the mercy of this crazy woman.

**000000000000000**

"What is this place, I thought you said you were taking me back to Konoha?" Hana asked suspiciously.

"I was given ten days to bring you back. Six days of travelling, in other words three days to go to Kiri, and three days to go back to Konoha, and then four days to find you and Raiga, defeat Raiga, and rescue you. However, it's only been six days now since I departed from Konoha. I figured we could use the remaining four days to just relax and enjoy ourselves, plus, we both need a bath and a change of clothes, and we need to talk about what happened in Kiri before we go back to Konoha." Naruto explained patiently.

"So that's why you took me to this...holiday resort?" Hana asked.

"It's a new place, they only opened about two weeks ago. No one will disturb us here, not many shinobi come to new places like this for a while, most shinobi prefer environments and routes that they are already familiar with." Naruto further explained.

"I see, so ummm...are you planning to kill me?" Hana asked bluntly.

"W-what? No way! You're Kiba's sister, and I promised your mother I'd bring you back safely, why would I kill you?" Naruto asked in surprise, caught completely offguard by Hana's question.

"Then why did you take me to an isolated place that has no shinobi, and why do you want to talk about what happened to Kiri? It makes me think that you don't want me to tell Godaime-sama what you did in Kiri, and that you'll kill me if I don't agree to keep your secret." Hana pressed on.

"You're very perceptive Hana-san."

"So it's true, you want to kill me?" Hana asked with a dangerous tone.

"Hell no!" Naruto exclaimed uncharacteristically.

"I mean...no, I have no intention of killing you Hana-san. It's true that I want you to leave out some stuff about what happened in Kiri, but if you don't want to keep my secret then I'll just have to face the consequences. I'd never kill you over something silly like that." Naruto retorted, Hana giving him an intense searching look before finally relaxing.

"Okay, I believe you."

"You do?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Yes I do, but I still don't get why you wanted such a secluded area." Hana argued stubbornly.

"To minimise threat levels and also because I don't want to run into other shinobi from the village, I'm supposed to be on a long term mission in Demon Country you know." Naruto replied.

"That doesn't make sense, you have a mask that is x-ray vision proof and you don't have a scent. How would anyone know that they ran into you?"

"A chakra sensor who knows my chakra signature would know, and even a byakugan user who understands a jinchuuriki's chakra network might be able to know it's me even without seeing my face. I'm still working on a seal that will cloak my chakra signature but I haven't completed it yet." Naruto explained.

"Okay but don't you already have an x-ray proof seal, why can't you just place it on your ANBU cloak and that way even a Hyuga won't be able to tell that you're a jinchuuriki."

"Hmmmm...you know, that's actually a good idea, why didn't I think of that..." Naruto trailed off with a thoughtfull expression.

"Because you're an idiot. I mean it's so obvious." Hana retorted irritably.

"Not really, I didn't know that the byakugan could differentiate between jinchuuriki and normal people until we encountered Ao, so I couldn't have thought of that until recently. Anyway all of that is irrelevant because I don't want to wear my ANBU outfit here, I want to be just me, Uzumaki Naruto for the next four days, so I won't be wearing my x-ray proof mask out here. That's the main reason why I chose this place."

"Why don't you want to wear your uniform?" Hana asked with a confused expression.

"Because I want you to get to know Uzumaki Naruto, not Redfox. If I'm going to be asking such a big favor from you, then I believe that I have to show you the real me so that you can judge for yourself if I am worth the risk or not. Having said however, I don't want you to feel pressured into anything, I won't hold it against you if you refuse, I'll still respect you and care about you regardless, as long as you are honest and true to yourself." Naruto replied sincerely.

"You...you care about me?" Hana asked with a light blush.

"Well, yeah I mean, you're my friend's sister, and a fellow Konoha shinobi. Ofcourse I care about you, what kind of Hokage would I be if I didn't?" Naruto replied ignorantly, Haku slamming his head against his forehead at Naruto's response as he saw the disappointed look that appeared briefly on Hana's face, something that Naruto also didn't fail to notice, though unlike Haku, he wasn't exactly sure why it had appeared.

_'Why do I feel this way, do I actually wish that I meant more to him than just a sister of his friend and a fellow Konoha shinobi?' _Hana pondered, confused by her own feelings as even she couldn't come up with an answer to her predicament.

_'No, there's no way I have romantic feelings for him. He's four years younger than me for Kami-sama's sake. Maybe I just wish that he considered me as a friend after everything we've gone through, or maybe I'm just feeling vulnerable because of what that bastard Raiga put me through. I'm sure I'll get over it in no time at all.' _Hana thought, trying to master some conviction though not really able to fully convince herself.

"Ahem anyway, maybe we should check in...?" Naruto suggested, breaking Hana out of her trance like state in the process.

"Yeah maybe we sh...what the...!" Hana trailed off in surprise, her eyes catching something completely different from what she had become accustomed to recently. No longer was Naruto wearing a long white cloak and no longer was he wearing a fox mask or ANBU armour. He was now wearing the standard Konoha jonin outfit complete with a green flak jacket, black metal plated gloves and a gigantic sword on his back wrapped with a large white bandage, a large black seal visible on the black bandages too.

"W-when did you change into that, and where did the sword come from?" Hana stuttered, still completely shocked by the fact that Naruto had managed to change his outfit without her noticing even though he was standing right in front of her.

"You kinda zoned out for a while there so I figured you must have been thinking deeply about something important. I decided not to disturb you and use the time to change into something more comfortable. It happened in an instant, all I did was unsummon the clothing I was wearing and then I summoned this new set of gear. It's a very useful fuinjutsu, I could teach it to you if you'd like." Naruto replied with a kind hearted smile.

"Ummm...thanks Naruto-kun, but I'm tired right now, I just need some rest. Maybe later, tommorrow perhaps?" Hana replied, unable to take her eyes off of the blonde Uzumaki's handsome features.

"Sure no problem, lets check in, get a bath, and then call it day. It's almost dark anyway." Naruto ordered, the blonde Uzumaki not waiting for a response as he walked ahead of Hana, Kamiko however quickly catching up and walking next to the young hunternin, her tail wagging left to right excitedly.

"Hey Naruto!" Hana called out as she, Kazuko, and Kimiko quickly caught up.

"Yes Hana-san?" Naruto asked.

"How the hell is carrying that gigantic thing on your back more comfortable to you compared to your ANBU gear?" Hana asked incredulously, Naruto chuckling amusedly at her hardcore tone and accent, something he thought he could never get tired of hearing.

"This sword doesn'weigh even a quarter of the weight you're probably imagining." Naruto explained.

"Naruto that's...that's bullshit." Hana said matter of factly, causing Naruto to try but fail to hold back his laughter.

"W-what's so funny?" Hana asked irritably.

"Nah it's nothing, hehehe, I just like you alot that's all. You and I could be good friends you know, well, at least I wouldn't mind if we were to becomes friends." Naruto replied with complete honesty and sincerity.

"Y-you mean, you want to be friends with me? Hey wait a minute, you're not just saying that because you want me to keep some secrets for you about what happened in Kiri are you?" Hana asked with a suspiscious glare.

"I understand your concerns, but as I said before, your decision will not change how I feel about you, I won't hold anything against someone who stands by their convictions and is true to themselves. The only people I dislike are those who lie to themselves." Naruto replied with a serious expression, Hana realising in that moment there were no lies or deception coming from the blonde Uzumaki, that he truly meant and believed in what he was saying.

"Hn, I bet Kiba will be pissed off at me for stealing his friend from him. I can't wait to see the expression on his face when he finds out." Hana laughed mischieviously, showing a side that Naruto had yet to see from her, but one that he absolutely adored as a former trickster and prankstar himself.

"So ummm...does that mean that you and I are friends now?" Naruto asked nervously, wondering in his mind just what the hell he was nervous about to begin with, it wasn't like he was asking her out or anything like that.

"Yes, I accept you as my friend Naruto-kun, but only after you tell me more about that mysterious sword on your back." Hana retorted with a playful smirk.

"Hehehe! I guess I have no choice then. There's not much to tell though, this is basically the Raijin no Ken that used to belong to the Nidaime Hokage." Naruto explained, causing Hana's eyes to widen in surprise.

"N-No way. There's no doubt that the hilt looks exactly the same, but as far as I'm aware, that sword has no blade, it is just that, a hilt. A blade made of pure lightning appears only when you cannel chakra into the hilt, and it requires alot of chakra to manifest a Kitana sized blade much less gigantic cleaver like yours seems to have." Hana argued vehemently.

"You're well informed Hana-san..."

"Just Hana or Hana-chan thank you, we're friends now aren't we?" Hana asked rhetorically, causing a small smile to appear on Naruto's facial features.

"Ofcourse, Hana-chan it is then" Naruto replied, causing Hana to smile back at him, a smile that had Naruto literally weak in the knees, barely able to catch himself before he could hit the dirt and embarrass himself.

"Ahem! To answer your question, nothing that you said was incorrect. However, you have to understand that a weapon is only as strong as it's wielder. This sword was damaged beyond repair almost two years ago by Sasuke's chidori and my Rasengan. An Ame missing nin known as Aoi had somehow gotten his hands on the sword and was our enemy during one of our missions. He thought that simply owning the sword made him invincible, and that was his mistake, a mistake that lead to his defeat." Naruto explained, taking a short pause to allow the info to sink in before carrying on from where he left off.

"When we returned from the mission, Godaime-sama tried to get the sword fixed, but no one could pull it off, including Jiraiya-sensei and Godaime-sama herself. So she gave it to me as a trophy or keepsake for defeating a user of the sword, she said I had earned it. I vowed to myself from that moment on that I would one day fix the sword and rule the world with it, hehehe, I remember how foolish she thought I was and how much both she and sensei laughed at me. In the end I wasn't only able to fix it, I was also able to modify it and make it an exponentially more powerful weapon. That's why it looks different from what you remember." Naruto explained.

"W-wow, you're so different from what I remember of you, I mean, you're still Naruto I guess, but so much more. I know we've never been close before but I'd like to think I knew you better than most shinobi in the village, you were my brother's friend after all, and there's that time we visited you in the hospital and I sowed your pants." Hana said with a nostalgic expression.

"Do you prefer the old Naruto or this one?" Naruto asked curiously.

"No offense to the old Naruto, but this Naruto is mature, handsome, and reliable, not to mention that he totally saved my life. Yeah, I definitely prefer this Naruto." Hana retorted with a lovely smile, Naruto's heart slowly but surely melting the more time he spent with her, and he didn't like that all, despite how good it felt.

"Hehehe! Well, I also prefer the current Naruto just so you know." Naruto retorted, the two laughing together as they finally reached the large gates of the resort, a strong comaradie and sense of trust developing between the two young ninjas.

**Four days later: ANBU Headquarters... **

"So let me get this straight, you had in your possession a healthy young boy with a bloodline limit that emulates both the Hyuga and Uchiha's visual prowess and you thought it was okay to just hand him over to a potential enemy?" Boar asked incredulously, unable to believe what he had just heard from the person he thought of as his most skilled and professional subordinate, he would definitely have to re-evaluate his opinion after what he'd just heard though.

He was seated on his office desk with his hands locked together in front of him, The Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade standing beside him on his left hand side along with Shizune, who was carrying Tonton in her arms as usual. On his right hand side stood Inuzuka Tsume, who didn't seem to give a damn about anything else besides the fact that her daughter had been safely returned to her, the result being a weak attempt at looking displeased at the two pups standing in front of them side by side across the desk, Hana's ninken almost acting as bodyguards the way the they stood around the duo.

"I mean no disrespect Boar-taichou, but need I remind you of our shinobi code? The mission takes priorety over anything and everything else, and my mission was ensuring Inuzuka Hana's safe return to the village. I couldn't afford to do anything that would jeopardise that." Redfox replied robotically.

"It's good to know that you have memorised your shinobi code Redfox, but simply memorizing the code and applying it are two different things. Yes it's true that the mission takes priority, but is it also not true to our code that the life of one comrade is not worth the lives of many? What if this boy becomes a threat to us in the future? What if he kills many of our comrades? Can you gaurantee that he won't do that given the fact that you killed his only precious person? Can you guarentee he won't succumb to his hate just as Uchiha Sasuke did?" Tsunade asked rhetorically.

It pained her greatly to have to say those words to the blonde Uzumaki, though she did well not to show any of those feelings, as a real shinobi should by law and code. She honestly missed the bright, naive, and happy go lucky spark that he used to be, the spark that always brightened her day and could make her smile even in the worst of days. However, he had made this decision himself and she would be damned if she showed him any favoritism whatsoever, if he wanted to be a member of the ANBU, then he had to be treated like one.

That was all fair and good under normal circumstances, and perhaps it would teach him that every decision a person makes has consequences and that one has to take responsibility for those decisions. The problem however was that Tsunade was unaware of the fact that she harbored a great deal of resentment for the young Uzumaki. She felt betrayed by Naruto because to her, what he'd done was the same as abandoning her. It was the same as if he had just packed his clothes and left the village because he barely spent anytime inside the village anyway, always somewhere else in the world on some man hunt, as if he wasn't the one that had convinved her to come back to the village in the first place, as if she hadn't come back here just for him.

"I believe that the two of you have a misunderstanding. Wouldn't it be more dangerous to bring him back to Konoha if he really harbored feelings of hate and retribution? Even if you disagree on that part, have you considered the impact such a bloodline limit would have on the Uchiha and The Hyuga clans respectively? Would those clans feel as important, needed, and respected as they are now if we were to welcome such a clan in Konoha?" Naruto argued.

"..."

"..."

"Do remember that we were surrounded by nineteen of the bloodline faction's strongest in their own terrotory. I'd say we negotiated well to be able to come out of that not only with our lives and our health intact, but also with the stolen byakugan that we retrieved. I'm sure the Hyuga clan will be pleased." Naruto said, directing everyone's gaze back to the glass jar that was standing on Boar's desk, a pupil-less eye floating in the middle of the liquid filled jar.

"I still think you should have at least eliminated the boy if you couldn't bring him back, but be that as it may, congratulations on a job well done. You completed your mission in time and you retrieved an important treasure and asset at the same time. You did well, Redfox. I'll deposit your reward into your account as soon as possible." Boar replied, still holding a few reservations about Redfox's conduct but reluctantly deciding to let it slide anyway, Redfox had accomplished alot for the ANBU in the short time that he joined and despite everything, Boar could honestly say he himself wasn't entirely convinced that he could have done better if he had been the one in Redfox's shoes.

"Thank you Boar-taichou, Godaime-sama." Redfox replied with a respectful bow.

"Are you fit for another mission? Or do you need a medical check-up?" Boar asked.

"I sustained no injuries in this mission, and as stated in my report, Hana-chan and I spent three days at the new resort in the deep forests of the country. My energy levels are at an all time high as a result." Redfox replied.

"Why did you feel the need to go there anyway Redfox-kun? I also couldn't help but notice the affectionate honorific you used with my daughter, is there something I should know? Hmmm?" Tsume asked with a mischievious smirk.

"Mother!" Hana exclaimed in surprise, a full blown blush adorning her facial features, her mind going back to the conversation that she'd had with Kamiko-chan, Kamiko-chan passing on the message that had actually come directly from her mother.

It was quite a vague message in general, but to Hana, just as Tsume had expected, it had been anything but vague. Tsume had ordered Kamiko to remind Hana of the conversation that they had when she turned sixteen, a conversation about how to choose the best mate possible. One of the most important factors an Inuzuka woman had to take into account was the reaction of her ninken to the potential suitor. If your ninken didn't get along or didn't like the potential suiter, it was most likely that you and said suiter were not compatable. And if they got along very well, chances were that the two of you were perfect for each other, as was the case with Naruto and Hana's ninken, to the point that a stranger looking in could have easily mistaken Naruto to be the master and partner of the triplets rather than Hana, that's how much they liked him.

In all honesty Hana herself couldn't help but to develop a crush on the blonde Uzumaki, especially after the last three days that they spent at the Burning Forest Resort. She had no idea that the new Naruto still had such a fun and exciting side to him, and it also helped that he was part fox too, because he didn't find any of her typical Inuzuka behaviour weird at all and actually liked those things about her, at least that's how it seemed to her. What probably made their bond so much stronger than it would have been in such a short time was the fact that she was keeping such a big secret for him.

_'Now that I think about it, how much trouble would Naruto-kun have gotten into had I decided not to keep his secret? They were so mad about him handing Ranmaru and the Lightning Fangs over I can't even imagine how they would have reacted if they knew about the Kubikiribocho and Naruto helping their leader get stronger, or the promise of an alliance treaty for that matter.' _Hana thought wearily.

_'I...I must never allow any of this to leave my lips. I promised Naruto-kun and...I don't want anything bad to happen to him.' _Hana re-affirmed to herself with conviction.

"Hana-chan and I have become close friends you could say, and I trust her very much both as a fellow shinobi and as a friend. As for taking her to the resort, well, you did ask me to bring her back safely and in good condition, to me, that doesn't only mean that she has to be physically intact, it also means that she should be both mentally and emotionally intact as well. That's why I felt it was a good idea for us to go to the Burnning Forest Resort." Naruto replied with the typica ANBU robotic and emotionless tone, Tsume smirking unashamedly at the blonde Uzumaki.

"So ummm...Redfox-kun, did my Hana-chan get to see what you're hiding behind your cover?" Tsume asked lecherously.

"M-Mother!" Hana exclaimed once again with embarrassment, her extreme reaction totally confusing Naruto as he thought that that was a simple and straight forward question. Ofcourse it wasn't in fact a simple and straight forward question as what Tsume was actually asking was if there had been any intimacy between the two during their stay at the resort, to be more blunt, whether they had sex or not.

"Yes mam, I was able to show her what is under my mask, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it when the two of you get home." Naruto replied, leaving everyone's jaw on the ground in shock, embarassment, and even disbelief, Tsume and Hana included, Hana unable to believe that Naruto wasn't able to read between the lines of what her mother was actually asking. Though to be fair, Naruto never would have expected someone's mother to be so blunt about something like that, especially when you consider that he didn't have a mother of his own to compare with.

"Ummm...did I say something wrong?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Ummm...no, it's just that ummm...do you love my..."

"Mother now is hardly the time and place for such a conversation, perhaps we can continue later? I'm sure Godaime-sama and Boar-san have things that they want to say to Redfox-kun." Hana cut in swiftly.

"Hmmm...I guess you're right Hana-chan, this is not over Redfox." Tsume said with a serious tone and expression, a tone and expression that made Naruto extremely nervous all of a sudden, the blonde Uzumaki finally able to put two and two together and realise what was happening, though it was too little too late to do anything about it, at least not immediately.

"Ahem! Since you've had time to relax and regain your strength already, not that you've ever needed it, but anyway, here's your next mission. You'll find all the instructions and additional information inside." Boar said as he handed a scroll to the blonde Uzumaki across the desk.

"Thank you Boar-taichou. I guess this will be my cue then." Naruto said as he prepared to leave the building and the village with haste, vowing not to put a step back into the village for another year. He'd even go as far as sending Gamakichi to collect and deliver scrolls for him if he had to, just as long as he didn't have to face Inuzuka Tsume. If she really thought that he had banged her daughter, then he didn't even want to imagine what she might do to him.

"You're leaving already Redfox-kun?" Hana asked hastily.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Redfox asked curiously.

"Ah...well, I don't know I jus...I just thought that maybe we could hang out a little before you leave." Hana muttered under her breathe, unable to remember a time before that she had been so nervous in her life.

"Didn't we just hang out for four straight days at the resort?" Naruto asked with a bit of mirth in his voice.

"Well...yes, I guess you're right. Just forget about it then, I'll see you when I see you. Goodbye." Hana said, her head cast down in disapointment, struggling to understand why she felt so sad about Naruto leaving, they hadn't even known each other that long, well, she'd known about him since he was born, but she hadn't known him personally until just a few days ago, so it didn't really make sense to her.

"Goodbye Hana-chan, and..."

"What is it?" Hana asked with bated breathe.

"It would have been nice to hang out a little more. I really enjoyed your compan..." Naruto trailed with a startle, broken from his words by a loud squeel coming from Tonton.

"Is everything okay Shizune nee-chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"What's going on Shizune!" Tsunade demanded aggressively.

"Ah...I'm sorry! I ah...I think I squeezed Tonton a little too hard! Please forgive me Tonton!" Shizune exclaimed, a look of pain and distraught written all over her facial expression, almost as if Tonton was the one that had hurt her instead.

"Nee-chan, are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked suspisciously.

"I'm sure. And you should stop calling me that when you're on duty, it might give away your true identity." Shizune retorted with haste.

"That's not an issue, everyone in this room with the exception of Tsume-sama already knows my true identity, and I promised her I'd let her know my identity when I've brought her daughter back. That's why I instructed Hana-chan to let her know about my identity..." Naruto trailed off, taking a small breathe before continuing where he left off.

"But I'm more concerned about you. You're so overprotective of Tonton that I can't believe you'd ever hurt her, even by accident. There must be something serious that's bothering you." Naruto said matter of factly.

"I'm sorry Redfox-kun but you're wrong. And even if you were not wrong, my personal issues would still be none of your concern." Shizune said defensively, a fierce expression appearing on her face in that moment, one that Naruto had never seen on her before, especially not directed at him.

The tension in the air was so fierce in that moment that no one, not even Tsunade herself would even dare to interfere. Tsunade herself had never seen Shizune looking that fierce before, not even when Shizune was pissed off with her for something she had done or said. She was definitely going to grill Shizune about this when she had calmed down, but right now she couldn't even master a single word because Shizune looked scary even to her right now.

Hana didn't know Shizune anywhere near as well as Tsunade and Naruto did, so ofcourse she had no idea whether Shizune was acting out of character or not. However, her insticts told her to beware of Shizune, almost in the same manner her insticts warned her when a potential enemy was close by. Her ninken also seemed to be on guard when it came to this woman, she could clearly see it in their stance and behaviour, though that could easily have just been caused by the intense emotion the two surrogate siblings were exhibiting right now. Still, Hana didn't want to take anything for granted right now, because her mother and Kuromaru didn't seem to be getting the same reaction as her and her ninken, which meant one of only two things. One, that she and her ninken were just paranoid or overprotective of Naruto, or two, that Shizune was a potential threat to her in particular, which begged the question, why? Why would Shizune want to make an enemy of her. What even connected th...

_'Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun is the only thing that connects Shizune and I. He has a strong bond with her no doubt, and so do I. If he considers her as a surrogate older sister, then she must consider him to be a little brother too. So is she being the overprotective older sister right now? Does she think I'm not good enough for him, or is it something else...' _Hana thought, her brain running a million miles per second trying to sort out the puzzle.

_'Naruto-kun was telling me how much he enjoyed my company when Tonton cried out. So my relationship with Naruto must really bother her, I can't write that off now, it seems an almost certainty. But...why do I get the feeling that there's something more to it, could Shizune's love for Naruto possibly be something more than a sibling bond. No that's just crazy, how old is Shizune anyway, 23? But then, I'm also four years older than Naruto. Wait a minute, do I...does that mean that I also like Naruto as more than a friend?' _Hana came to a shocking realisation.

"Fair enough, it's possibly none of my business, but you do know that I'd do anything for you right? If you need my help with anything, I'll always be there to help you." Naruto said with so much honesty and sincerity that no one in the room was left with even a tiny bit of doubt as to how much Shizune meant to Naruto.

"Thanks Redfox-kun, I'd do anything for you too, I hope you also know that." Shizune said with a heart warming smile, the tension suddenly disappearing altogether, almost as if someone had turned a switch off.

"I know." Naruto replied simply.

"Tche, you don't have to be so cocky about it." Shizune replied with an adorable pout.

"Hn, at least I got you to smile again." Naruto retorted with a warm smile.

"Whatever. Just get the hell out of here, you have a mission to complete." Shizune said playfully.

"Alright alright. I'll see you guys around, you take care of yourself now Shizu nee-chan, you too Hana-chan, Godaime-sama, Boar-taichou, and Tsume-sama." Naruto declared, everyone with the exception of Hana saying their farewells to the blonde Uzumaki, Naruto turning around to leave only to be halted on his tracks by a hand on his forearm.

"Might I have a word with you in private Redfox-kun, if it's okay with you?" Hana asked, her body still facing forward when she strecthed her arm to catch the blonde, the effect being that she and Shizune making eye contact with each other, Hana struggling to hold back a smirk as she saw the mixture of distraught and fury in Shizune's eyes.

_'This confirms everything, Shizune-san definitely wants more from Naruto than what she has right now. She wants to be his lover. The problem is that she has known him longer than I have, and is therefore probably more sure of her feelings than I am of mine. I still have to confirm whether this is just a teenage crush or if I have real feelings for him, but if I take too long...I might possibly lose my greatest chance of happiness.' _Hana thought wearily.

_'This is bad. I've never felt such envy for Sakura, but that's because I always knew that she only had eyes for Sasuke, and I knew that Naruto would outgrow his childish crush on her. But this is different, Hana is a grown and mature woman, and unlike Hinata, she doesn't seem to be afraid to get what she wants. If I don't act soon, this woman will steal Naruto-kun from me. But Naruto-kun is still too young, I'll be seen as a molester if I go after him now. I was planning to wait a little longer but it seems like I have no choice but to speed things up. Maybe Naruto-kun and I can have a secret affair until he is old enough? Kuso, but what if someone catches on, Hana will definitely catch on, she already has, even before anything could happen between us. This is bad, I need to get some kind of dirt on her to prevent her from blackmailing me or even worse, exposing me.' _Shizune thought frantically.

**00000000000000**

"So what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked now that he and Hana were a good distance away from ANBU Headquarters.

"I just...I just wanted to thank you for everything you know, before you leave again." Hana said nervously, a small blush adorning her cheeks as she pondered whether to tell the blonde Uzumaki about her true feelings or not.

"There's no need to thank me. It was just a mission that I had to complete, if anything, you have Godaime-sama's benovelance to be thankful off. She took a big risk by authorising that mission." Naruto retorted.

"Then tell me, were the days we spent at the Burning Leaf Resort also just part of your mission?" Hana asked with a knowing smile.

"The days we spent at the resort were part of mission, a very important part of the mission might I add." Naruto replied, deciding to further elaborate when he saw the confused expression on her face.

"I was ordered to bring you back alive and healthy, and I was given ten days to do so. To me, alive and healthy isn't just about your physical state of being, it is also about your mental, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing. That's what the resort was all about." Naruto explained with devastating effect, realisation, embarrassment, and heartache at the forefront of Hana's current emotional and mental state, ironically negating everything that Naruto had set out to do with the Burning Leaf Resort idea.

"So...you're telling me that you would have done everything in exactly the same manner no matter which Konoha ninja you were sent to save?" Hana stuttered, mentally cursing herself for her presumed stupidity in assuming that there was something special brewing between the two of them.

"Not just Konoha ninjas, it's something I would do for any of my clie...nts." Naruto stuttered, having received a powerful mental slap to the face from within his mindscape, Haku uncharacteristically screaming obsenities at the blonde Uzumaki for his stupidity when it comes to women.

_"You're not acting like your usual self Haku, do you like this woman that much?'"_Naruto asked curiously.

_"Yes I do, and she's absolutely a perfect match for you. But that's not what really makes me angry with you right now, what infuriates me is the fact that I know for a fact that you have feelings for her, yet you're just ruined everything in a matter of seconds." _Haku ranted.

_"I've never seen you this angry before, you must really like her just as much as I do. But I believe you're missing the point. Firstly, I just saved her life and entrusted a big secret to her, so there is a strong possibility that a large part of what she feels is just the knight in shining armour syndrom..."_

_"What's the knight in shining armour syndrom?" _Haku cut in.

_"It's when a person thinks they are in love with a person simply because that person saved their life. To the victim, the person cannot be anything but perfect because he saved her life, and she mistakens the strong feeling of gratitude for true love. It's a real and existing psychological issue." _Naruto explained much to Haku's shock and astonishment.

_"I can't believe I didn't know about that..." _Haku trailed off.

_"That's not all. There's also the matter of Akatsuki. Getting a lover right now would make me an easy target, and more importantly, it would put her life an even more danger than I am in from those guys. I don't want something bad to happen to her." _Naruto explained.

_"So that's why you're pushing her away? You're killing two birds with one stone, destroying her illusionary knight in shining armour image of you and at the same time protecting her from Akatsuki. Wow Naruto-kun, it appears as though the student might have become the master after all. I have alot to learn from you it seems..."_

_"Now you're just exaggerating." _Naruto cut in with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Redfox...Redfox...Naruto!" Hana shouted worriedly.

"Oh sorry about that, I tend to space out from time to time." Naruto apologised sincerely.

"I've noticed that. Is it...is it because of..."

"The Kyubi?"

"Ummm...yes." Hana asked with concern.

"Yes it is, but it's nothing to worry yourself about, it doesn't happen when I'm in any sort of danger, only when the environment is relatively safe." Naruto explained.

"Do you...communicate with it?" Hana asked curiously.

"..."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No it's okay." Naruto cut in.

"I do communicate with the Kyubi, and yes, it speaks human language. But don't tell anyone, not even Jiraiya-sensei knows about that." Naruto replied.

"I finally understand now." Hana said with a mischievious smirk.

"Understand what?" Naruto asked with confusion.

"You do have feelings for me, and you trust me." Hana said matter of factly.

"I don't know what you're ta..."

"It's okay, you don't have to admit it verbally, but just know that actions speak louder than words." Hana said with a knowing smirk.

_"Is this some kind of female reverse psychology thing?"_

_"I'm afraid not Naruto-kun, it seems like she really has figured you out. That's why she's a perfect match for you." _Haku said jovially.

_"I think you're enjoying this a little too much, but whatever." _Naruto retorted irritably.

"Hana, I think you..."

"No! No more lies Naruto-kun!"

"..."

"Look, I'm not desperate or anything like that. But you can't just make me like you like you did and then not take responsibility for these feelings. You don't have to marry me, you don't even have to date me, but I think we should at least keep in communication with each other, you know, get to know each other better." Hana suggested.

"I understand that your job requires confidentiality regarding your whereabouts and stuff like that, so here's my suggestion. We'll use your toad summons for communication, you'll have to have one of them hide somewhere inside Konoha, somewhere that only I know about. I'll send letters to you through that toad and vice versa. H...how does that sound?" Hana asked with a slight stutter at the end, a sign of just how difficult it was for her to express her feelings so openly to a man, after all, she didn't really have much experience when it came to stuff like this, she wasn't even sure if what she'd just done was inaproppriate or not.

"I think..." Naruto trailed off dramatically.

"W-what?" Hana asked nervously.

"Well the thing is...I think it's an awesome idea." Naruto replied with a playful smirk.

"How dare you!" Hana exclaimed, playfully punching the blonde Uzumaki on the shoulder, a mixture of frustration and amusing morphing onto her facial features.

"Hehehehe! I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist, you left yourself so open there, I couldn't in my right mind waste such an easy opportunity." Naruto taunted with a small chuckle.

"You're such a ninja you know that." Hana said with an exasperated roll of the eyes.

"Tche, so are you."

"Yeah whatever, so do we have deal? You'll keep me updated about your whereabouts and stuff?" Hana asked for confirmation.

"You're really concerned about me that much?" Naruto asked, not being used to having a girl doting over him in this manner, well, there was Shizune and Tsunade on occassion, but they were more in the bracket of surrogate family, this was something else entirely, or so Naruto thought.

"Ofcourse I am. You're always out there somewhere on your own. What if Akatsuki find you and capture you? I need to know that you're okay at all times, and the only way for that to happen is to hear from you directly from time to time. You can even send shadow clones if it won't be too much to ask." Hana replied with a tone and expression that was so sincere that Naruto had to literally hold back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, the Inuzuka heiress touching a special spot in the aspiring Hokage's heart.

"You have such a kind and caring heart Hana-chan. I'm glad I was the one asigned to this mission, I've never wanted to protect Konoha and create a world of peace more than I do right now, you've ren-engineered and strengthened my resolve." Naruto replied, gently holding Hana's right cheek in the palm of his right hand.

"I'm glad you feel that way Naruto-kun, but ummm..."

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked with a worried frown on his face.

"No no there's nothing wrong, I'm like the happiest woman in the world right now. It's just that well...I don't think that the word _re-engineered _should be anywhere near a romantic moment like this." Hana said, finally breaking out into a full blown laughter at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.

"You do know that I'm going to get you for this right?" Naruto asked irritably.

"Get me back? Haha!You don't get to get me back silly, this is me paying you back for earlier." Hana retorted.

"Tche, what on earth am I going to do with you." Naruto shook his head in dismay, the bond between the two young shinobi growing stronger every second that the two spent teasing and laughing at each other.

**Sometime late: A few miles outside of Konoha...**

"Okay that's enough now. You three have been following me since I left the village, what's the big idea?" Naruto said seemingly to nothing but thin air, the blonde haired Uzumaki standing perfectly still in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

It wasn't just by coincidence either, Naruto had carefully chosen the spot from which to make known his awareness of the potential enemy's presence. It was a clearing situated in a route less travelled by shinobi or civilian alike, and far away enough from Konoha and popular routes that even most sensor types wouldn't be able to detect their chakra if a battle broke out. And finally, the clearing itself was so big that stealth and deception had a very low chance of succeeding against him, thus the only way to take him out was a head on and straight forward battle.

"..."

"I know there are three of you following me, if you don't come out within three seconds, I will treat you as my enemy." Naruto said, before starting the countdown, adding that being labelled as his enemy meant that he would hunt them down and kill them without asking questions.

"..."

"Three...two...one..."

"Wait!" A voice said from behind a tree on Naruto's right hand side.

"Just in the nick of time, a split second later and you might have been dead right now. Now hurry up and show yourselves, all three of you." Naruto demanded authoratively, two more guys coming out from behind a tree that was behind him and one that was on his left hand side, along with the owner of the young male voice that had spoken earlier.

"You guys are from R.O.O.T, and one of you is a member of the Yamanaka clan it seems..." Naruto trailed off as he turned his head to look at the guy behind him.

"And another from the Aburame clan." Naruto said.

Ofcourse, Naruto didn't really need to turn around and look at the guy behind him to make that confirmation as he had the ability to decipher a person's clan and even nationality by virtue of their chakra signature alone, however, that was something he wanted to keep close to himself for as long as possible because it would most certainly raise a few akward questions from Tsunade if she ever found out, and besides, he was quite a secretive person by nature.

"We mean you no harm Redfox-san, we are only here to deliver a message." The youngest of the three man said diplomatically, a young man no older than Naruto himself if one were to judge by appearance alone. He had relatively short black hair and equally black eyes and pale skin, also wearing a black outfit with a tanto on his back.

_'What's with this guy dressing up like a male prostitute, I can see his belly button even. Is this guy sexually confused or something?' _Naruto thought with a quirked eyebrow.

_"Ahem, in case you don't remember, I was dressed in a...ahem...less than musculine outfit when we met for the second time in Wave Country. Did you think I was sexually confused as well?" _Haku asked with a reprimanding tone.

_"That's totally different. That was your disguise, you simply used your beauty as a stealth weapon like a top class shinobi should do. What's this guy's story?" _Naruto asked, only for his internal conversation to be interupted by the smooth and emotionless voice of what appeared to be the spokesperson of this team, the other two remaining completely silent.

"Are you interested in hearing the message Redfox-san?" The spokesperson guy asked curiously.

"Yes, but only after you introduce yourselves and not a second before then." Naruto demanded, the three not liking the, in their view, non-existent authority that Naruto was excercizing over them but ultimately deciding that it would be less troublesome to just obey him for now.

"My name is Sai, the man on the opposite side of me is Yamanaka Fuu, and the man behind you is Aburame Torune. Can we continue now?" Sai spoke with that ice cold and emotion deficient voice of his.

"You may continue. What does Danzo want with me?" Naruto asked with more curiousity than weariness.

"That's Danzo-sama to you." Torune said testily.

"You sound agitated. I was under the impression that R.O.O.T shinobi had no emotions to speak off. I guess that was just a myth after all." Naruto retorted, causing Torune's eyes to widen slightly before shutting that doorway immediately, so fast that one would even wonder if it had ever been there to begin with.

"You're very good at riling people up it seems, but Torune-san is an elite in our ranks, you won't be able to outwit him with weak and underhanded tactics like that." Sai retorted.

"I suppose not. Anyway, I've got a mission to complete, why don't we get to the point of all this already. What does Danzo want with me?" Naruto asked, more lile demanded actually.

"Word of your exploits have spread like a wild fire throughout our ranks, and consequently, Danzo-sama has developed an interest you. He, like everyone else in the village is also aware of your interest in the Hokage position and shares your love and devotion to the great tree that is Konoha.. As a result of all of this, Danzo-sama wishes to discuss the wellbeing and future of the great tree with you." Sai explained calmly.

_"So they already knew who you are under the mask..." _Haku thought out loud.

_"To be fair, the fox mask kind of gives it away, not to mention that they have a sensor type in their ranks. Danzo would have familiarised all of his sensors to mine and the fox's chakra from the moment that the fox was sealed inside of me." _Naruto retorted.

_"I'm the one that told you NOT to choose that mask remember, you're the one that didn't listen to me. And we really need to complete that chakra cloaking seal soon, otherwise we can't go back and forth from the village without alerting skilled sensor's in the village. What's worse is that Neji, Hinata, and Ino all have the potential to be great sensor types, they're probably getting better and better as we speak. Your scent and x-ray vision cloaking mechanisms will be rendered useless if you don't figure out this new seal soon."_

_"Okay okay I get it geez, now's not the time, you can lecture me later dad." _Naruto taunted, causing Haku's temperature to boil in anger, which was saying something given the fact that he was practically a living err...dead ice machine.

"I see...I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised by this turn of events, though I must say that I didn't expect him to make his move so soon. I've been literally brainwashed to believe that Danzo is the big bad wolf that everyone should be weary of in the village, some even go as far as to paint him as a considerably less reckless and harder to expose version of Orochimaru. Needless to say, I'm not too optimistic about Danzo and I finding any common ground, however, I am a fair man and I do not like to make baseless conclusions and assumptions..." Naruto trailed off suggestively.

"Does that mean that you will hear him out?" Sai asked robotically.

"Yes I will, but just for interest sake, what would have happened had I refused?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We would have subdued you and made you listen anyway." Sai replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say.

"I see." Naruto replied simply, also speaking as if he and Sai were merely discussing today's weather forecast.

"..."

"One more question, why did you wait a whole forty miles to reveal yourselves when you knew we'd have to head back to the village anyway if I agreed to meet with your master?" Naruto asked, something clearly not adding up as far is he was concerned, causing him an even more weary feeling than he already had about this whole situation.

"This is why." Fuu replied, Naruto turning his head to his left hand side to see the Yamanaka clansman holding a scroll of some sort.

"A summoning scroll, I should have figured." Naruto drawled out, watching intently as Fuu chanelled his chakra into the seal on the scroll before throwing it away to his left hand side, a poofing sound resounding in the clearing as the area where the scroll landed become covered in a huge puff of smoke. However, Danzo, eager to find out whether his underlings Naruto had willingly agreed to meet him or had been forcefully subdued, blew the smoke away with a small, chakra enhanced gust of wind.

"I've noticed that there is no detailed profile about you in any of Konoha's archives, consequently, I didn't know anything about your abilities until now. At least I know you're a wind style user now." Naruto said with his personal ANBU tone of voice and demeanor, one that he had practised to such an extent that it eventually just became part of who he was now.

"Hn, that was just a minor wind style. Any person, whether having a wind element or not would be able to pull that technique off with a little practise." Danzo commented, doing well to hold back the extent of his satisfaction from showing, the old war hawk truly pleased to find that Naruto was willingly co-operating. It wasn't anything world changing ofcourse, but it meant there was a small chance that he wouldn't need to take drastic measures in order to get his way, a small chance that he and the village's jinchuuriki would be able to see eye to eye regarding matters that concern the great tree.

"Fair enough, but why don't we just skip the formalities and get to the _root _of the problem." Naruto said, none of the root shinobi missing the definite emphasis on the word 'root'.

_"That Fuu guy intentionally threw the scroll to his left hand side, in other words, in front of me. What do you make of this, Haku?"_ Naruto asked wearily.

_"While it makes sense that Danzo would be required to stand in your direct line of site for the two of you to communicate properly, I still can't shake off the bad feeling at the pit of my stomach, like something awful is about to happen. It also doesn't help that you're completely surrounded from all four directions at ninety degree angles, as if they're preparing to perform some kind of barrier technique or something." _Haku retorted.

_"Hmmm, that's an interesting analysis Haku. Take a back seat for now and watch out for anything genjutsu or mind transfer related, as always, I'll handle the tangible stuff." _Naruto ordered.

_"Roger that." _Haku replied just as Danzo began to speak.

"Okay, that's fine by me. I prefer to do things that way myself, another thing we have in common next to our mutual elemental affinity and ofcourse, love and devotion to the great tree." Danzo replied.

"If you're beginning your proposal by drawing parallels between us, then does that mean that you want me to join your organisation?" Naruto asked, his right side eyebrow quiked upwards under that sinister looking mask of his.

"You are indeed correct in your analysis, and let me add, I do admire your powers of perception." Danzo said with an uncomfortbale sincerity, at least as far as Naruto was concerned.

"Okay okay enough sucking up, what exactly do you want from me? And why are your underlings not wearing their masks? Is it because you're going to try and kill me if I refuse to follow your lead, or is it because you actually believe that I'll join you?" Naruto asked with a dangerous tone of voice.

"First let me say this, I don't just want you to join me, I actually want you to be my successor." Danzo declared, causing not just Naruto, but also Fuu, Torune, and Sai's eyes to widen in surprise, shock visibly clear on all of their expressions despite they're so called emotionless status.

"I...I'm surprised, but more than that, I'm even more suspicious."

"That's not an unexpected reaction, nor is it a wrong one. You are right to be suspicious of what is currently taking place. Things like this don't happen very often, and when they do, they warrant thorough meditation and investigation, that is what any human should do, even more so a shinobi. However, you have to try and see things from my perspective, here is a young and incredibly talented kid, he has the love and will of fire reminiscent of the past four Hokage, but also the dark and rational mindset of an ANBU operative, he also has the ability to switch off his emotions completely just like a ROOT operative and has been through trials and tribulation as a child that would have broken a veteran shinobi. But here he is, intact, alive, strong, smart, efficient, and with unparalleled talent for ninjutsu. Looking at it from that point of view, is our meeting here today really out of character, or out of the blue, or out of context?" Danzo asked rhetorically.

"I...I guess not. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to join you, in fact, I can't afford to join you. My goal is to become the Hokage, in other words, my goal is to become your boss. I therefore cannot be your underling." Naruto said with finality.

"That is also my dream, my long time goal, to become the Hokage. That is also why you should join me, you and I are so much alike, no, actually, you're even more. You're also Konoha's ultimate weapon and as I said before, you have both the qualities of ROOT commander and a Hokage within you. You're a rare breed, I've only met one other person like you before, actually, make that two." Danzo retorted.

"And who might those people be if I may ask?"

"My sensei, the second hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the other...I might tell you about him one day, but not right now. Matters concerning him are an S class secret." Danzo explained patiently.

"I see. Well, I'm honoured by your interest, praise, and your generous offer, however, if your dream really is to become the Hokage, then that makes you my rival. I can't be your underling if I ever want to become the Hokage. I'm sorry, but the answer is no." Naruto stated.

"Your devotion to your dream is one of the things that draw me towards you, that's why you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that you cannot be the Hokage if you are working for me. Everything happens in cycles, and everything has to be taken one step at a time. With the Akatsuki coming after all the bijuu and the tensions between the villages heightening, it is not much of a stretch to say that a war is coming. And, sad as it may be, Hokages tend to die during these wars. Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama, and Saru all died in war. The fourth died during an attack on the village by the nine tails. It happens, a great sacrifice always has to be paid for the nourishment and protection of the great tree." Danzo lectured, taking a small breathe before continuing where he left off.

"What point am I trying to make here you might ask? Well, my point is, Tsunade will die either from an Akatsuki attack or from the wounds she sustains in the next war. She might even have to directly sacrifice herself much like the fourth did. I will then assume the Hokage position and you will take over my position in R.O.O.T. Then, in the future, I too will die or retire, and you will take over my position as Hokage, someone else, perhaps someone that you've chosen and mentored yourself will become the new R.O.O.T commander. One step at time...cycles. That's how life works. You don't have to sacrifice your dream in order to work for me, and we don't have to be rivals just because we have the same dream. I'm a wind style user, an esteemed elder in the village and advisor to the Hokage, I was the Second Hokage's apprentice and the Third's friend and rival. I have alot of experience myself too and I am skilled and powerful myself in my own right. My word carries alot of weight in the village and I have alot of contacts both from within and outside the village. There's alot you can gain by joining my organisation Naruto-kun, as my apprentice." Danzo said convincingly.

"Apprentice? But I already have a mentor..."

"There's no rule against having more than one mentor, just as there isn't against having more than one apprentice, although you will have to keep our association a secret from everyone else, and you'll have to allow me to place a gag seal on your tongue, it's just a precautionary measure in case you are captured and interogated by the enemy." Danzo explained.

"I gag seal huh? I can see how that could come in handy. I'd hate to be the guy that gave away secrets and cause problems for the village. Hmmm...okay, I'll join your cause, everything you said makes perfect sense, I have no counters against it." Naruto replied.

"I'm pleased to hear that Naruto-kun. You've made me the happiest man in the world right now." Danzo said with a small smirk.

"Now, come over here and allow me to administer the gag seal." Danzo ordered.

"Hai hai captain. I'm on my way." Naruto said sarcastically, but nevertheless walking slowly towards the seemingly crippled old man.

_"Hehehehe! Are you watching Saru? Your efforts to deny me access to Minato and Kushina's heir along with the kyubi were futile. Konoha is now in the grasp of my hand, next up is the rest of the elemental nations. This world will be united under one banner and one leader. I will bring peace to elemental nations, I will succeed where all the previous Hokage have failed before." _Danzo thought triumphantly.

_"I wonder how strong old man Danzo really is, you think he's stronger than the third was?" _Naruto asked curiously.

_"I don't know, but I'm confident that he's a better genjutsu master than the third could ever be." _Haku replied.

_"Yeah totally...wait what! How would you know that?" _Naruto asked in surprise.

_"Hmmm let me think, oh yes, it might have something to do with the sharingan he's hiding behind that bandaged eye, and the genjutsu that he is controlling you with."_

**Chapter End**


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